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retrievablememories · 3 years

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tokyo 2112 | baekhyun (m)

title: tokyo 2112 pairing: rich guy!baekhyun x reader genre: sci-fi/cyberpunk au, enemies to lovers, angst, non-explicit smut request: “hi, how are you? 💕 could i request some cyberpunk x baekhyun fic? i have in mind Tokyo, neon lights and explosive lovers. please feel free to choose the amount you want to write or you can. and thanks! ✨” word count: 12.8k warnings: body modifications/prosthetics, attempted robbery, physical violence (not between bh x reader, though reader does think about fighting him 💀), blood, non-graphic wounds, mentions of sex/one non-explicit sex scene, mentions of a car accident, frequent alcohol use/unhealthy reliance on alcohol, smoking, mentions of classism/poverty, mentions of experimentation, surgery is performed on the reader but not described, one mention of being weighed on a scale-like device a/n: this is my first real, lengthy attempt at enemies2lovers (or maybe just the genre “reader’s an a-hole who makes a lot of assumptions”) because i’m a clown and like to challenge myself for no reason...and this is why i don’t fool with this particular romance genre 💀 feedback is appreciated, this fic is just a whole lot of me experimentally punching above my weight and i’m a bit undecided on my feelings about it

also, i imagined the reader’s arm with a similar structure to the winter soldier’s, for reference

Tokyo, year 2112

You meet him in a Lower Tokyo club, the neon lights bleeding into each other and creating a deep, vivid landscape. It’s an unnaturally pretty scene—unnatural like everyone and everything else inside this club.

There’s a look of subdued wonder on his face, which makes you roll your eyes. He’s all made up and way too pretty to be in this dingy club with his gaudy piercings and expensive rings. Still, he enters the building in all his affluent glory, standing out against the crowd of gritty and cobbled-together androids and half-humans.

He’s a rich man’s son and an even richer man’s grandson. He’s known for being attractive, intelligent, and ridiculously rich—and that’s about all you know of the man himself. Him and his family have been excellent at keeping their personal lives air-tight, only ever letting the public know what they want everyone to know. But ultimately, they are only human. You know they cannot be as perfect as they try to maintain, and you can only imagine the unsavory things in their family history that go much deeper than anyone could ever think up.

“Do you think he wears all that to make up for the lack of enhancements?” Your friend Valor asks. He’s gesturing specifically to the man’s lip piercing and the chains hanging off of it, attached to the collar of his shirt. It’s a little strange, but it’s a signature look for him, and certainly not one of the weirder things in here.

“I’d like to rip it right out,” you reply in lieu of an actual answer to Valor’s question.

The man appears misplaced—like a researcher conducting a study of alien beings rather than a regular club goer—though he doesn’t seem to mind this. He just observes everything around him.

Valor chuckles and shakes his head at the display, throwing back another shot. “Weird.”

“Hm. Come on.” You steer Valor in the other direction, looking to get away from the man before he can get near your area of the club. Though this is your first time being in such close quarters with Byun Baekhyun despite his popularity across Tokyo, you’d like to cut things short if at all possible.

Another hour passes, and the drinks keep flowing. Your mind has gotten pleasantly hazy by now, almost enough to make you forget about the trespasser in your club scene. Almost.

You, Valor, and three other familiar faces sit at a small table near the back of the club. One of the guys is recounting some run-in he had the other week with the Droid Commission, though you can barely hear over the music that’s only getting louder, so you just nod and pretend to understand. However, he suddenly falters in his tale and his eyes dart up to a spot above your head. Turning back, you see that he is standing just over your shoulder. Without thinking, you recoil.

Baekhyun slides from behind you and comes to stand in front of you all now, a strangely convivial smile on his face. He acts like he’s merely visiting you all at brunch instead of standing in a club in the roughest part of the city.

“Exquisite work here,” he says, though his words drown in all the noise. None of you know what he’s saying, or who he’s saying it to. Noticing the acute confusion, Baekhyun lowers himself to your level, his scent passing across your nose as he does. Some robust and fancy cologne you don’t know the name of. Your eyebrows furrow at his proximity, and your blood rushes; maybe out of anger, or maybe just from being drunk. Then he touches your left shoulder, right where the metal of your arm connects to your living flesh.

Yeah, definitely anger.

“I said, this work is exquisite. Quite fascinating, really. Who made it?” Baekhyun has to get fairly close to your ear for you to hear him above the commotion, and you can feel the heat of his mouth next to your skin. His eyes travel the length of your arm, which is fully exposed in your tank top. His voice is irritatingly smooth, and the chains of his lip ring lightly brush your shoulder when he pulls back after he finishes speaking. Though your arm may be made of metal, it still has artificial sensory “nerves” running through it that connect it to the rest of your nervous system—and right now, they are screaming from that slight touch.

Maybe you really are just too damn drunk.

You look into Baekhyun’s dark eyes, which are imploring, coy, and playful all at once. The others at your table watch this interaction as if suspended in time, probably trying to process the sheer nerve of this dude.

“Fuck off,” you blurt out, and brush him off your shoulder with your flesh hand.

He remains unoffended; he even looks entertained by your blunt rejection.

The man who was previously telling his story speaks up. “You heard her. Fuck off, pretty boy.”

Baekhyun straightens up and nods, then reaches into his jacket. Two of the men leap to their feet, thinking he’s about to pull out a weapon—which would not be the first or last occurrence in this club—but he only brings out a business card, tucked between two of his fingers.

“Ever vigilant, aren’t you?” Baekhyun says, laying the card on the small tabletop. Then he directs his next sentence to you. “If you decide you feel like telling me more...get in touch.”

Then he disappears back into the mass of moving bodies just as quickly as he came. You flex the fingers on your metal hand, trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.

Both men at your table sit back down, although they’re still a bit disgruntled. Valor picks up the card to inspect it. “You gonna call that weirdo?”

“Please. You know me better than that by now.” You pluck the card from his hand and rip it up without a second thought. However, it takes a little longer to forget about the heated imprint of Baekhyun’s fingers on your shoulder, or his whispering voice fluttering against your eardrum.

Getting the arm was merely an act of survival, the way you saw it.

Money was low and jobs were scarce—ones that weren’t dangerous, straight-up unappealing, or low pay. There had been a scientific research trial for a new cybernetics program, and it paid much better than many other opportunities around—enough to live on for at least a year, give or take, especially with the cheaper cost of living in your area. You’d been terrified about giving up a part of your body, thinking your body might reject the foreign technology and kill you for the offense, but your desperation outweighed the fear.

Thankfully, it worked.

That was nearly two years ago, though, and the trial was long over. Even with you spending as frugally as you possibly could, the money was close to running out.

Odd jobs here and there help you out some, but they are few and far between and don’t pay nearly enough to make a living on.

You’re getting increasingly anxious about the lack of options and dwindling money, though you also spend half of your time getting drunk, hitting up the club, and simply trying not to acknowledge your crumbling life. If worst comes to worst, you can always think about finding another research trial and exchanging another body part. Maybe. These cybernetics programs often crop up more in Osaka, which would require you to leave the city, but maybe you could get another gig and scrape up enough money for travel...

For now, however, you are back at the club’s familiar bar and making small talk with the bartender, who’s an android without a real name or identity. Everyone just knows it as T-4000, though it appears to be fine with its little niche in the world. Sometimes it teases you about your arm and wonders when you will make a complete transformation into a “metalhead” like itself. Though you cringe, the company is better than nothing when the others aren’t around, so you allow the jokes.

Alone at the bar, you’re too preoccupied with staring into your drink to register the body sliding onto the bar stool next to yours until you hear The Voice flowing out again.

“One Blue Lagoon, please.”

Oh, fuck. You put your head in one hand and angle your body away from his in hopes that he doesn’t notice it’s you. But just as your fortune turns out, he happens to be facing your metal arm.

“Oh, it’s you again.” Baekhyun sounds pleased to see you, like this is some great unexpected coincidence, though you know that’s not likely true. You lift your drink to your mouth and pretend you don’t hear him, though that doesn’t deter him. “I never did hear back from you. How sad.”

“I have no desire to talk to you or anyone like you,” you say, still with your head turned.

“Anyone like me?” He chuckles.

“You don’t belong here, in case you didn't notice.”

“By whose definition?”

“Everyone’s,” you retort. T-4000 comes back with Baekhyun’s drink, and it gives you a look of bright amusement and curiosity with its digital-screen face as it rolls away to help another customer.

“I don’t concern myself with ‘everyone’s’ opinions,” Baekhyun replies, drinking from his glass. “Just the ones who matter.”

“Right, like your rich friends,” you scoff. “Why the hell are you even here?” You turn to him then, though looking at him feels like a mistake—like staring into a solar eclipse. He’s still wearing his chains, like always, and his eyes are smoked out with dark shades of eyeliner. The makeup makes him look eternally tired, but in some high-fashion model way.

“Because I don’t like being around my so-called ‘rich friends’ any more than you would.” Baekhyun smirks.

“So sorry.” You roll your eyes. “Maybe you should become a hermit, then.”

“You seem to be doing a good job of that right now. Where’s your friends from last time?” He looks around as if they’ll materialize.

“None of your business.”

Baekhyun leans on the bar counter, placing his arms on top of it, and his cologne hits you again. You try to hold your breath against the scent, though you can almost taste it in the back of your mouth. Shaking your head, you peer directly into his eyes now, which are as exceedingly curious as the last time. They’re still inky dark under this lighting, reminding you of black holes that absorb all light and life.

“Is it bad for me to want to know more about your arm?”

“Like I just said, it’s frankly none of your business.” You cast a forlorn glance at your drink, which has gotten dangerously low.

“Fair enough.” He sips again. “Now. What if I want to know about you?”

The back of your neck flares with heat, though you can’t fathom why. “You must be truly bored if that’s what you came here for. Unfortunately, you aren’t as interesting as you seem to think you are.”

“You injure me.” But you both know he’s not hurt at all by anything you can think of to say to him. “But this isn’t about me—it’s about you.”

“What about me? How you want to steal my arm and use it for scrap metal, maybe? Or to build yourself a body mod, even? You really stand out in here being the only one who’s not partway made of tin or some shit, and it makes people distrust you. You can figure that out, right?”

“You make a lot of assumptions.” Baekhyun swirls his drink around in his glass, the blue liquid swishing around the sides. “Let me make some, then. You seem like a mysterious, closed-off, and perpetually discontented person. And despite what you might think, it’s not my first time seeing you around. I guess I can’t interest you in entertaining my presence just for company’s sake?”

You pause, wondering where Baekhyun could have possibly spotted you. You don’t hang out in any of the places someone of his standing would usually be seen in. But then again, does he even frequent those areas of Upper Tokyo? He’s always spending his time mingling in Lower Tokyo’s notable haunts instead. “...Are you some kind of peeping tom or something equally pathetic?”

T-4000 perks up at that, even from its distance on the other side of the bar, and it scoots a little closer as if it’ll need to call the Droid Commission in another minute. Which, in actuality, is a terrible idea—calling on one of the city’s many vigilantes would have a more effective outcome, if need be, but sending them for Baekhyun of all people might land you all in prison.

“Tokyo is big,” Baekhyun deadpans, like it’s something even a baby would know. “You can see anyone anywhere.” Then his voice melts back into its normal suave tone. “I’ve noticed you in passing, once or twice. Your arm is something special, but it’s hard to forget a person like you.”

Despite yourself, you don’t totally hate the comment. That alone makes you want to leave the club and not look back for at least the next month or so, knowing he’s probably said this to dozens of other people before. You stay in your seat, though, trying to see what easy line this man is going to throw out next.

“I wonder why I’ve never noticed you, then.”

“You seem to be too consumed with your own problems half the time, even though I don’t know what those are. The stress is written all over your face, though.”

Can never miss a chance to be insufferable, it seems.

“Okay Mr. Psychoanalyst.” You knock back the tiny bit of drink left in your glass and push it away from you. You shake your head at the android when it gestures for a refill.

“Not a psychoanalyst, you’re just achingly easy to decipher.” His tone is casual, like this isn’t meant to be an insult, though you take offense anyway.

“You’re not very good at whatever this is,” you say.

“What do you think this is? Flirting? Maybe you wouldn’t be wrong there.” He laughs.

“Yeah, well. Get some more practice and then maybe you can convince some other poor sap to get to know you better and sign over the rights to their cybernetics, but I won’t be falling for it.”

“I guess that means I’ll just have to try harder, then.” And then he finishes his drink, too. “Not the stealing your arm bit, but the getting to know you part.” He pauses for another moment, and then says, “It’s easy to become enamored with this place.” He waves his hand around at the club’s surroundings. “Expect to see me around more often. I think I’ve already taken a liking to you.”

Baekhyun tips his empty glass to you and gets up from his stool. His cologne swirls around you as he leaves, not overpowering, but enough to make its mark on your olfactory memories. You don’t look back to see where he walks off to, too busy trying to ignore the small headache building behind your eyes and your elevated heart rate.

He’s already taken a liking to you. Why would a ridiculous comment like that even get to you?

God. You really need to get laid.

So, you do just that.

Not with Baekhyun, but with someone from the club whose name you don’t even remember before it’s even over. It was painfully uneventful sex, and it did nothing to banish the man from your mind, which makes you feel even more irritated.

Walking back to your tiny apartment afterwards feels like a certified Walk of Shame even though it’s late at night and no one really cares to notice you. You spit on the sidewalk as if that could properly convey your disgust. You think of Osaka again—and what the fuck are you going to do to even get the money to get there?—and of the business card that you’d ripped up without remorse.

You shake your head, sending that thought back to the depths of your mind. Nevermind. That doesn’t matter. What could he possibly have for you, and why would you want it? Tucking your hands tighter in your pockets, you keep your head down and remain inconspicuous until you get back to the not-so-welcome sight of your own place.

You, Valor, and a few others sit around a makeshift bonfire at Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge—or what remains of it, anyway, with weeds and tall grass sprouting up in the space that was once its parking lot. For the past hour, this impromptu hangout been nothing but smoking cigarettes and drinking cheap alcohol and shooting the breeze. The nights are always much colder than the days, the chill biting into your skin and seeping into your clothes, but you try to ignore it and huddle closer to the fire. Maybe there is something, anything else you could be doing other than this, but you are just a bit too weak—and a little too lonely—to say no to the companionship. Even if it means listening to the uninteresting conversations of men who you barely know outside of the club or without a bottle of whiskey in their hands.

Your hangout session remains sleepy and boring for a while until someone makes a suggestion. One of them keeps going on about some steady, reliable work he’s supposedly found from a trusted friend, though he refuses to elaborate on what kind of work it is when asked. You make a sound of disgust and tune him out. Useless suggestions are as bad as none at all.

“Maybe we oughta rob that Baekhyun dude.”

You look up from the flames, fixing your eyes on the one who said it—a man called Lockjaw—and someone else chuckles in disbelief.

“You serious?” Valor asks.

Lockjaw sits forward in his ratty lawn chair, and with the way the light hits his face, it’s easier to see how his bottom jaw and teeth are completely metal. It makes you wince internally every time you see him, though you always feel kinda bad afterwards. That must’ve hurt exponentially worse than your own procedure. “Why the fuck not? He struts around Lower Tokyo like he has it all...and the bastard does. We sit and grovel for scraps, yet there’s a walking goldmine right in front of us.”

The idea of taking Baekhyun’s riches had never quite appealed to you or fully manifested in your mind. You didn’t want anything belonging to him, mostly because of your own disdain towards the man. However, the suggestion appears in sharp relief now, so obvious that it’s hard to believe no one else proposed it until now. You don’t immediately respond to this concept being thrown around, but something uneasy settles in your chest.

Valor sits back with a mildly disinterested look. “And you think someone like him doesn’t have major security hanging around waiting to incinerate someone with a ray gun if they tried it?”

“Do you ever see anyone hanging around him?”

“Doesn’t mean they’re not there. Somewhere.”

“Then we’ll be strapped up,” Lockjaw says, throwing his hands in the air. “And any of his little ‘security team’ who tries it will be blown into the stratosphere. That’s how we take care of that.” You shake your head only slightly, a movement not noticeable enough to be picked up by the others. You rub your tongue against the inside of your cheek, picturing all the ways this plan could go belly-up. To your irritation, Valor decides to drag you into the fold despite your efforts to stay out of the conversation.

“What do ya think, Y/N? Baekhyun’s been on your tail lately, maybe you could help lure him in.” That stirs up several murmurs and targeted stares in your direction.

“Yeah?” Lockjaw leans forward even more, his ass nearly slipping off the edge of the chair. “Think you can get in good with him?”

You shift uncomfortably in your seat. “Uh...it’s not like I’m buddy-buddy with him—”

“You don’t need to be, just tell him to bring his ass here and we’ll do the rest.”

Your mouth tightens. With all eyes trained on you, some expressions less friendly than others, it feels impossible to refuse. “I guess.”

“It’ll provide the money you’ve been worrying over for the past year.” Valor offers, and you shoot him a side-eye. Not like you needed him to broadcast your business to the world.

“That’s how life around here works,” another man chimes in, putting his cigarette out on the dirt and getting off his makeshift stoop of an upturned bucket. He stretches his arms and legs, and though you can’t see them under his long pants, you can hear the soft whirring and clicking of his metal legs. “Eat or be eaten. I’ve made my choice.”

Lockjaw gives a wolfish smile. Your apprehension rises, though you say nothing. “Eat, we will.”

You try to act nonchalant the next time you see Baekhyun at the club. You only notice him as you’re leaving, having already waited most of the night to see if he’d show up this time. You slow to a stop as you spot him in the alleyway behind the club, speaking to another club-goer—you’ve seen the person around before. You can only imagine what they were talking about before you’d interrupted their little scene, and the person scurries off, perhaps somewhat reluctantly, once it’s clear they’ve lost Baekhyun’s attention. Maybe that was the poor sap he’d finally found who’d be misguided enough to give up their cybernetics.

Baekhyun approaches you with a smile, his chains catching in the light of the flashy neon sign above. The kohl is dark and smoky around his eyes, in perfect sameness with every other time you’ve seen him.

“Hello, one who’s name I still don’t know—”

“You should come see me,” you interrupt. You want this to be as quick as possible, not wanting to dwell on any fake niceties.

Baekhyun lifts an eyebrow. “See you? At...your place, or—”

“At the ruins of Rainbow Bridge. Thursday night, around 9. Unless you’re too busy doing rich people stuff.”

“Rainbow Bridge…” He draws the words slowly across his tongue. Probably thinking of what a ruin the bridge is now—and has been for the past few decades—and wondering why you’re asking him to meet there of all places.

“I have a friend who lives around there—no fucking place to stay, you know, just holes up wherever he can. But he can...let you see the inner workings of my arm. Pick him up, take him back to your place; I’m sure you have a lab.” And because you know what he’s really looking for, you throw in, “He’s studied the technology, knows it inside-out. He could help you build...whatever it is you want.”

Baekhyun’s eyes, which you normally perceive as two lightless voids, sparkle at that last part. You can practically see the light increase in them. “Oh really?”

You roll your own eyes. “Yes, really. I’m not going to let you walk off with my damn arm, but you can...take notes on the mechanisms and shit. It’s up to you. I just got tired of you fuckin’ asking, so don’t think this is going to turn into some weekly meetup or whatever.”

He nods, slowly at first, and then more assuredly. “Alright, then. I’ll come.”

“So...yeah.” A sudden wave of anxiety crashes over you now that the trap has been laid. You feel as if you make one wrong move now, it’ll blow everything. He’ll find out and hate you for it. But why should you care about him hating you? “Then...see ya Thursday. Bye.” You decide to make your exit, walking briskly past him in the alley.

“Leaving so soon?” Baekhyun asks, turning back to watch your figure retreat. You wave one hand behind you in a dismissive gesture.

“I’ve been here all fuckin’ night, Byun. I’m going home now—to get some sleep, if I’m lucky.”

He chuckles, the sound fading behind you as you walk away. “Sweet dreams.”

Your steps falter just slightly when those words leave his lips, and several emotions begin warring in your chest. You ignore them all and continue on your walk back to your place, though you almost wish you could turn back to the club and ask for another drink or three. Something to get your mind off that ridiculously simple phrase that’ll be spinning around in your mind all night.

The night of the plan, you begin having major second thoughts.

It’s not as if you didn’t already feel shitty about it, but your mind keeps racing with how ridiculous of an idea this really is. It’s far too late to talk anyone out of it, as they’ve already stocked up on contraband weapons and laid their gameplan, but you feel less and less “okay” about being a part of it.

Most of all, you feel increasingly guilty about using Baekhyun’s trust in you for this; he never seemed to assume you had any other motives behind your invitation. Even if it’s ridiculously, oddly naive of him to trust you—someone he knows nothing about—you don’t feel great about exploiting that for your own gains.

It takes him less time to show up than you’d hoped. He’s right there at the agreed time, annoyingly punctual, his sleek black luxury car pulling up in the dirt and patchy grass. It looks like it was cut out of a magazine and placed there—almost comically out of place. Just like him.

Baekhyun gets out of the car and walks out onto the grass to meet you, uncaring of the mud and dirt he’s stepping in. He smirks, his hands in his pockets and his chains dangling. “Would now be a good time to get your name, or are we in too deep at this point?”

There’s no one else but him. Definitely too trusting.

You nervously chew your lip as you mull that question over. If everything goes like the others intend it to, there won’t be a point in telling him your name. But if he’s still alive by the end of the night, you could be exposing yourself. Still...a name won’t matter either way if he can give a perfect description of you to the Droid Commission.

Suddenly, you decide not to give it any more thought. “It’s Y/N.”

“Y/N, Y/N...” He says your name like he’s tasting a charming new food. “I like it. It suits you.”

Baekhyun’s smile is too sincere, and it doesn’t make you feel any better. “Come on.” You turn your back to him as you lead him through the tall grass and toward a broken section of the bridge’s main road. It leans against the main structure of the bridge and sticks halfway out of the muddy ditch that was once Tokyo Bay, its jagged edge reaching toward the night sky.

It’s darker under here, with the broken bridge blocking out the moon and stars and lights from buildings nearby. Your stomach rolls.

“So, who is this friend of yours?”

You turn to Baekhyun then, and you don’t know if he can read the anxiety on your face. Maybe he can. He’d proudly bragged about his own abilities for figuring people out.

It happens all at once, somehow slow and fast at the same time.

One of the men—the one with two metal legs—slinks out from behind the broken bridge and sneaks up behind Baekhyun, a stun spear in his hands. Its two large metal prongs are lit up with electricity. Those metal prongs are aimed directly at Baekhyun’s back, ready to make contact, but that never happens.

“Look out!” you scream, and shove Baekhyun out of the way. He stumbles off to the side, falling against the concrete bridge, and you wildly grasp the long spear with both hands, blocking the man from reaching Baekhyun.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Metal Legs shouts. He drives the spear’s metal bar forward, knocking it into your upper chest and collarbone with a force that makes your teeth chatter, and the pain and shock take your breath away for a few moments.

You’re not a fighter. You usually try to stay out of any ridiculous brawls when they do happen, whether at your apartment building or the club, but you do your best to hold the dude off. So even though you stumble back, you keep your hold as tight around the spear as you can and shove it back, putting your weight behind the movement and cracking it against the man’s chin. He howls with pain and anger and his hands momentarily loosen on the weapon. You take that opportunity to snatch it completely from him.

Nearby, Baekhyun is busy fending off Lockjaw with a long knife, both of them fully engaged in a fierce clash of blades. You feel a burst of surprise. He was armed this entire time? Had he realized something was suspicious after all? Most of all, how does he know how to fight?

You don’t have much more time to think about that, though. Metal Legs is recovering from the hit, his hand reaching for his side like he’s about to pull out his own knife or gun. You leap forward and shove the prongs of the stun spear into his ribs. He quickly collapses to the dirt, motionless after a handful of frightening convulsions. You feel cold fear at the idea that you might’ve just killed him, but you can’t dwell on that when you see the others bursting out of the tall grass a few yards away from you and Baekhyun. The backup, in case something went wrong—which it most definitely has.

Lockjaw has Baekhyun up against the concrete of the bridge, his knife near Baekhyun’s neck and Baekhyun trying to block the blade. The sharp metal inches increasingly closer to its target. With your legs shaking, you run up behind Lockjaw and dig the electrified prongs into his side, sending more volts through his body than you can imagine.

Lockjaw’s weapon drops, and Baekhyun stumbles away. The man takes a little longer to be knocked unconscious than Metal Legs, but you are relieved when he’s out a few seconds later.

You look at Baekhyun, who appears dazed and winded; you belatedly realize he might’ve received some of the shock too, with both men’s arms locked together when you initially used the spear. “Get out of here! The rest are coming—go!” A shot from a ray gun zips through the air between you two and burns the concrete of the bridge.

Baekhyun looks at you wordlessly. Then he grabs your wrist as tight as a vise. You glance at him questioningly, and your confusion mounts when he drags you along with him as he takes off towards his car. The red smearing across your hand and wrist tells you he must be bleeding from somewhere, and shock blooms in your chest for a wild moment.

The car door opens without him even touching the handle or speaking a command, and he jostles you into the backseat, trying to avoid the spear’s prongs; you’re still holding it tight, as you expected you’d need it to face the others—however futile that would’ve been. You’re so frazzled once you get in the car that it takes you a moment to realize Baekhyun is in the backseat with you. “What are you doing?!”

“Get on the highway,” Baekhyun speaks, ignoring your frantic question, and the engine roars in your ears as the car peels out of the grassy lot. The vehicle narrowly escapes another round of angry shots fired by the others, and the grass sizzles where the shots land.

A self-driving car. Of course he’d have one of those. You stare at the steering wheel as it turns on its own, maneuvering you both away from the scene of the crime and back onto the paved roads.

“Your arm…” You look at the sleeve of Baekhyun’s jacket. It’s torn now, and you can see the skin of his forearm underneath, which displays a long cut. Lucky for him, it’s not deep enough to need stitches. He has similar, smaller ones on his hands.

Baekhyun examines the wound and makes a sound of disgust. “It’ll be fine,” he says decisively. “The bastard wasn’t as good with a knife as he wishes he was.”

You nod silently, though the movement feels mechanical. As the reality of the situation seeps in, a whirlpool of dread forms in your stomach.

“Fuck, I-I’m fucked.”

Baekhyun gives a humorless laugh. “You’re fucked?”

“I’ll...need to lay low for a while.” Then you glance at him. “Unless you’re driving me to the Commission. Then, well…at least they can’t get to me while I’m in prison.” Your laugh is equally humorless.

“You’re going into hiding?” Baekhyun asks, and the corner of his mouth lifts. You don’t expect this reaction. Not after him almost being jacked and led into the situation by none other than you.

His smirk exasperates you. You almost want to roll your eyes at him not realizing why you’d need to hide. Or maybe he’s just playing coy about it; but you give him a break for now. “I ruined the plan and helped you out, so yeah, my own place is not gonna be safe anymore. ‘Friends’ are fleeting out here. Especially if you fuck with someone else’s money.” Valor crosses your mind, the only one you could really call a friend out of all the others—and only because you knew more secrets of his than they did. Your chest tightens with a strange guilt. You should’ve just said no from the beginning.

The car is quiet for a few long moments. Then Baekhyun shatters the silence with, “Come home with me, then. You can stay there for a little while.”

You bark out a laugh. “You can’t be for real.”

He sits back against the leather seat. “I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t. It’s a waste of time otherwise.”

“After I just—could’ve gotten you killed?”

“I said it before—you’re like an open book. Your emotions are practically written on your face. It’s pretty damn obvious to me you were never truly up for this plan. Unfortunately, you aren’t the badass you think you are, but at least your efforts saved me.”

“But I still—”

“You certainly don’t have to take the offer if you don’t want it.”

You become quiet at that. Even if you don’t think you deserve this level of mercy, you don’t want to shun this offer of safety and be left to contend with the streets alone. Your voice is tense and quiet when you respond. “I’ll take it.”

Baekhyun’s home is a penthouse in the heart of Upper Tokyo, which doesn’t surprise you. The contrast in his neighborhood’s appearance with what you’re used to seeing in Lower Tokyo is stark and painful—spotlessly clean streets with sweepers continually traveling up and down them, bright holographic billboards, people walking around with personal androids accompanying them. You begin to feel resentful again, and you wish you could swallow those feelings after he’s been gracious enough to rescue you, but you can’t help it.

You two must make quite a sight once you pull into the apartment building’s parking garage—you holding a stun spear, wearing a slightly shabby outfit of a T-shirt, jeans, and jacket, and Baekhyun walking out with disheveled, torn clothes and bloody hands. Someone gets out of the parking garage elevator once the doors open, and they give a startled look when they see you two.

“Good to see you, Jongin,” Baekhyun greets the other man. His tone is friendly, but his expression dares the other man to ask any questions—which you both know he won’t.

“Good evening, Baekhyun.” The man gives a slight nod in your direction as he walks past you two, though there’s no hiding the distaste he thinks he’s disguising. His eyes linger on your metal hand, and you feel exposed; you try to convince yourself he’s just looking at the spear, which would also make sense.

You try to shake the feeling off as you and Baekhyun step into the elevator cabin, but confusion rushes over you to replace it. The floor of the elevator is more like a scale, sensing the weight of your bodies and sinking slightly further into the floor once you step onto it.

“What’s that all about?” you ask.

“Oh, yeah. That. This isn’t like your typical elevator, it’s a teleportation channel,” Baekhyun says this nonchalantly as he reaches for the touchscreen panel on the wall.

“Um, what? I don’t want to be teleported anywhere.” You jump right back out of the cabin before the doors can close, and Baekhyun gives you a weary look as he holds them open with one crimson hand.

“It’s safe, you don’t have to worry about anything. All it does is take the atoms in your body and replicate them elsewhere; the floor measures your mass. I’ve done it hundreds of times.”

“You don’t say.” Sarcasm drips from your voice. “Yeah, no thanks. I’m not interested in turning into ground meat on the other side of that thing.”

“There are no stairs in this building, just teleportation channels. If you want to climb the side of the building to get to my place, be my guest.” Baekhyun starts pressing on the panel as if he’ll leave you behind, and panic spikes in your chest. You decide to get back on with him, much to your displeasure.

You close your eyes tight just as the inside of the cabin starts glowing with light, and you can only hope your last lived experience won’t be riding a teleporter with Baekhyun in the same night you tried to mug him.

Surprisingly, the transportation doesn't feel like anything. One minute you’re there on the parking garage ground floor, and the next minute you hear the whoosh of the doors opening again. It’s like you never moved an inch, but you obviously have when the doors reveal the lavish interior of Baekhyun’s home.

Grateful to be at your destination, you step out of the teleporter as quickly as possible. “How did we end up right inside your place?”

“Clever, right? It uses fingerprint recognition so no one else can get access but me, but you’d know that if you hadn’t slammed your eyes shut.”

For all your talk of Baekhyun being out of place in Lower Tokyo, you suddenly feel like the fish out of water inside his penthouse. There’s metal and glass and holographic materials everywhere, which is the same stuff you’d find in Lower Tokyo, but here it’s all much more sleek, shiny, and well-maintained. His living room alone looks bigger than your entire apartment.

“Come on, don’t just stand there.” He gestures for you to follow him further down the hall, and you hesitantly do.

“Um...I don’t really want to carry this all night,” you say, referring to the stun spear still in your hands.

Baekhyun turns back to you, blocking the path to the rest of the hallway. “Do you even know how to turn it off?” It’s still charged with energy. You look at it up and down, but it isn’t immediately obvious to you. You don’t want to admit that, though, and keep awkwardly looking for some sort of Off switch until Baekhyun can’t stand the silence anymore. “Look, just give it to me.”

Your mouth twists at that. It seems nonsensical considering he’s just given you a safe haven, but you’re wary he’ll try to turn the weapon on you. Maybe he was waiting to get you alone and dispose of you himself. He appears to understand your thought process, because he scoffs loudly and holds his hand out for the spear.

“If I really wanted you dead, I could’ve done it in the car—or better yet, let your friends take care of you. Just hand it over.”

“Mm, I think not. I don’t think you’d want to get blood on your pretty leather seats.” Still, you give him the spear, if a bit reluctantly. You don’t know what he does with it, but he takes it into another room and tells you to wait in the hall. When he returns, it’s gone.

Baekhyun leads you to a clean and unoccupied guest room. It’s large, with floor-to-ceiling windows that give an expansive view of the city below. It’s also nicely decorated, much like one of Upper Tokyo’s many upscale hotels, but it seems like it hasn’t seen a warm body in months. There’s a certain lack of warmth to it. “Don’t get many visitors?”

“Now is not the best time to make jokes about me filling my perpetual loneliness with frequent trips to your club, if that’s what you’re attempting to lead up to.” He steps through another door, which you find out leads to the bathroom. “Everything you need should already be here—except clothes. I’ll get those in a moment.”

“Right,” you mumble, your eyes carefully tracing over everything in the bathroom. You know your skeptical behavior is probably pissing him off at this point, but distrust has long become an inherent feature of yours. You’ll keep this act up if you know it’ll get under his skin.

The hot water in this shower doesn’t run out after five minutes like the one back home. You can’t shake the old habit, though, and you wash yourself as quickly as you can, body tensed with adrenaline as you expectantly wait for the warm flow to stop after the five minutes are up. When that doesn’t happen, your muscles relax a little. Though it feels good, you don’t know if you’ll get used to this any time soon.

The clothes he lays out for you on the bed are plain and black, but still better quality than what you’re used to seeing and wearing. Soft on your skin. Smell good. You wonder where he’s went off to—maybe to wash up and patch up his wounds, if he has any sense. You also wonder if you should try exploring his place, but you feel like that’ll be risky; he has too much advanced technology around here that would probably find a way to kick you out of the penthouse window at the first sign of nefarious activity.

...Which is how you end up merely sitting on the bed and waiting to see what will happen next. But not before checking the entire room for any signs of surveillance tech or something else foreboding. This is also when you make the joyous discovery that your phone is missing, and you reason it must’ve fallen out of your pocket in the earlier clash; you know you had it when you first met up with Baekhyun. That pisses you off, but there’s nothing you can do about it now. Though you feel disconcertingly cut off from the outside world without it, who would you even contact anymore? One of the others, who’d probably try to track you down and enact a cold, hard revenge for you blowing up the plan? Lockjaw’s face flashes into your mind, along with the other scalding looks you received the night of the planning, and you shudder slightly.

When Baekhyun comes back to your room—and you’re almost surprised that he does—he looks significantly smaller in presence without his all-black clothes, glittering face chains, and heavy makeup.

Indeed, the man standing in front of you with damp hair, baggy pajamas, and bandaged hands doesn’t seem like the same suave person from the club at all.

“So now what?” you say, raising an eyebrow at him.

He shrugs. “Well, if you’re going to be living here, you need a tour.”

Living with Baekhyun isn’t quite what you expected it to be. He’s home more often than you’d think, for one. You would’ve thought he’d always be in business meetings or off somewhere finding more luxury goods to buy or just doing whatever. You can’t really get mad at him for being in his own home, but you try to keep space between the two of you. With your own designated spaces, it’s not hard to do this, which you are at least marginally glad about.

Trying to deal with Baekhyun while completely sober isn’t your idea of a walk in the park. Despite yourself, you wish you could go back to the club even once; Baekhyun certainly won’t let you drink up all his liquor, nor will he tell you where he’s hidden it. For your own good, he claims. Sure.

To your surprise and slight relief, he doesn’t ply you for any more details about your arm, though you’ve definitely caught him running his eyes across it more than once—studying it like words on a page. Whatever’s spinning around in that mind of his, you can only guess. His lingering interest only makes you think he’s scheming for a way to take the arm off you when you’re sleeping or equally vulnerable, though, so you remain guarded around him.

“One day, you’ll have to understand that I’m not the evil villain you think I am,” he tells you. He regards your attempts to avoid him with a certain bored amusement, like how one might think of a particularly entertaining pet cat.

You let the steam of the food you’re cooking billow up across your face, making your eyes water from the slightly-too-warm heat before answering. Leave it to him to bother you during one of the times when you can get some undisturbed, Baekhyun-free peace. “Maybe you should stop dressing up as one whenever you go out, then.”

He chuckles. “It’s like you’ve made it your personal mission to throw verbal stabs at me whenever possible.”

You shrug. “I have to do something to pass the time here.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “You could do that just by having a normal conversation with me.”

You cross your arms, looking at him from where he stands at the kitchen island. He’s in his dressed-down form now, sans eyeliner and jewelry.

His kitchen is not like any other you’ve encountered, fully equipped with the capabilities to make every single one of his meals by itself—and order more ingredients whenever necessary. It’s undoubtedly convenient. But you often still like to make food of your own, just so you don’t have to feel so...dependent on him for every little thing. “About what?”

“About who you are. What you like. What you dream about—I don’t know, something.”

“What I dream about.” You make a noise of disbelief. “How can you waste time on dreams when you live the life I do? I just focus on trying to survive. That’s it.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth automatically like he’ll say something, but he pauses as if he’s just absorbed the full weight of your words. Suddenly, there’s a certain sadness pooling in his eyes and pulling at the corners of his mouth, and you hate it—intensely. You don’t want his pity or sympathy. And yet, he’s already given it to you by letting you live in his home.

“Before you say something pathetic, just don’t,” you blurt out, wanting to stop him before he can start. “You want to talk? My favorite color is green, and my favorite food—alcohol. I have an arm made of fucking titanium, the club was my main hangout spot, and I hate entitled people. Talk about that.”

Baekhyun’s sympathy evaporates into an unimpressed expression, lost just as quickly as a whisper on the wind. “Closing the door again, I see. Alright. Have it your way.” He leaves the room then, giving his back to you and shutting you out similar to how you just did to him.

This should be what you wanted. But it only makes you feel oddly unsatisfied.

“Here.” Baekhyun slides something across the table towards you after dinner one day—another dinner where you sit on opposite ends of the table and where you try to ignore his existence. You instantly recognize the small, glistening package as a cellphone, though it’s a model much more advanced than you could’ve afforded.

You look up at him as he stands in front of you, one of his hands shoved into the pocket of his black pants. “...What are you doing?”

“Giving you something to communicate with so you don’t feel like some princess stuck in a glass castle.” You roll your eyes at that. “I’m not sure who you’d talk to since all your friends do hate you, but the thought counts. And everyone needs a phone.”

You sit forward to look at the phone in its packaging, tracing your metal fingers against the surface. The sensation circling around in your stomach is an odd one. “Please don’t tell me that you hosting me in your penthouse was just an easy way to get a sugar baby.”

Baekhyun looks slightly flustered at that accusation, and you’re gleefully, childishly pleased about taking him off guard. His surprise is quickly replaced with a shit-eating grin, though. “It’s nothing like that; I could’ve already had that kind of arrangement 100 times over.” His tone suggests that he has, which sends a chill crawling up your spine. But maybe not 100 times over. “I did it to help you out. But if thinking of it that way gets you off, be my guest.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Byun,” you say, taking the phone out gingerly. It’s a lightweight thing, looking like it might dissolve if you look at it too hard. Its screen is clear raised glass—which you assume will project out the hologram technology this phone is inevitably equipped with—and has silver backing. It’s a piece of work. Though it appears fragile, you know it’s sturdier than that—or it wouldn’t be such a popular model as it is now. “It’s...nice, though.”

Baekhyun waves his hand noncommittally. “I wouldn’t settle for anything less—even if it’s for someone as eternally pissed-off as you.” You bite your lip against the rebuttal that wants to come rolling out, instead preoccupying yourself with figuring out the controls on this thing. Which takes an embarrassingly long moment. Baekhyun watches you for the duration of it, biting his own lip against the urge to laugh at the frustrated furrow between your brows and the crinkling of your nose. Really, the phone looks like a thin sheet of metal with a slice of glass over it; how are you supposed to operate this? Eventually, he says, “There’s a button on the bottom that activates it...you have to press that.”

“Right, clearly.” You try to rid yourself of your embarrassment as you turn the thing on, but even as Baekhyun leaves the room you can hear his chains clinking together as he laughs silently at your confusion.

As if your life could not get any more chaotic, your metal arm begins malfunctioning.

The metal is not as flexible as it was just a few days before, and it gives you a hard time whenever you try to do simple maneuvers. Your arm is overtaken by a sensation that feels like nerve damage with how the entire limb and shoulder tingle and burn from wires that no longer want to do as they’re told. You’re not entirely sure what’s wrong with it—a good oiling could usually fix any stiffness when necessary, but this nervy feeling is new.

For a while, you try to hide it from Baekhyun, which feels kind of ridiculous even to you. You’re only hurting yourself more, but you are a little too prideful to give him the pleasure of inspecting your arm like he’d always wanted to from the start. You don’t want to be his science experiment.

However, it comes to a point when you must ask for help when your arm stops working entirely.

You wake up to this terrible realization. After another morning of having gotten only a little sleep the night before, something immediately feels wrong. Your arm is dead weight beside you. When you try to sit up, it doesn’t respond to your movements. You can only feel the painful tug on the flesh part of your shoulder where the weight of the metal pulls at it, and you groan in pain and annoyance.

You support your arm with your other hand to prevent the tugging, which quickly gets exhausting and annoying as you try to go through the morning motions. You can’t keep this up while washing, so by the time you get out of the shower, your shoulder is killing you from where the arm dangles.

When you get to the common room, Baekhyun isn’t there. He isn’t anywhere else in his penthouse, either. You don’t even know how long he’s been gone. When you bring yourself to finally call his number, you bitterly remember that you still don’t have it saved in your phone. You want to scream in irritation. You can’t leave to go look for him—yeah, right—or get help from anyone else, either, because of the fingerprint recognition on his apartment entrance. Now that you think about it, you are like a princess in a glass castle here. That reawakens another bout of anger in you. Safe haven or cage?

Baekhyun appears an hour or two later—you’re not totally certain, having refused to expend the strength to move from your current spot to check the time—wearing his usual getup. You don’t know if you should be relieved, but an emotion similar to that sweeps through you despite your lingering apprehension and dislike.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. His eyebrows crease when he sees you splayed across his couch, your metal arm propped up on the couch back.

Don’t be combative, you think to yourself. But it’s like an impulse; you can’t stop yourself. “Why do you immediately assume something’s wrong?”

“You’ve never been so casual,” he gestures to your posture, “around me or in my place before, so I’m trying to figure out if your brain has been infected by cyber bugs or something. Because if we need to quarantine, then—”

“Well, you’re not totally wrong for once.” You struggle to sit up, your movements stiff, and your arm slides off the couch back and slumps limply to your side. Baekhyun's eyebrows shoot towards his hairline at that, and he looks at you questioningly, stepping closer to you.

“What happened to your arm?”

“Don’t even fucking know…it’s been feeling weird for a week.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

You look up at him, cynicism coloring your expression. “I’m sure you can take a wild guess.”

He gives the familiar sigh-and-eye-roll combo, like he’s done probably a hundred times since he’s met you. “Yeah, I can.” He waves his hand. “No matter. I’m calling Yosuke.”

“Who’s Yosuke?” You turn to watch Baekhyun retreat—probably to his bedroom or office. He turns back to you momentarily.

“Someone who can fix your arm.”

—

Yosuke turns out to be a man around the same age as Baekhyun—a big contrast to the older, wizened cyberneticist you’d pictured in your mind. He and Baekhyun act overly familiar with each other, apparently being long-time friends since their younger years.

There is no difference in how he treats you and Baekhyun, which is another thing you didn’t quite expect. He is clearly wealthy like Baekhyun, coming in with a nice suit and expensive jewelry and a suitcase full of more tools than you’ve even seen before, but he doesn’t have the haughty rich man aura. That makes you feel a little more comfortable, and you are glad that Baekhyun let you have some privacy with this and left the lab for the actual procedure. Even if it meant he didn’t get his wish of poring over your arm’s wiring like some kind of cybernetics kinkster.

To your relief, the fix is simple enough. The implanted electrodes in your shoulder that help send signals between your brain’s neurons and the artificial nerves have failed, but those are relatively simple to replace.

“Shitty tech, I guess,” you mumble, casting a displeased look at your arm. You aren’t sure why, but you feel embarrassed about it failing on you. Maybe you just thought it’d be reliable forever. “I got it as part of an experimental research program, so it was probably never going to be the most dependable thing anyway…”

“Hm.” Yosuke smiles. “Maybe not, but it’s still an extraordinary piece of work—especially in this early form. Some of these mechanisms are new even to me. Was that the 2110 Tokyo trial, by chance?”

You nod, though you feel a tiny bit less relaxed with knowing that even Yosuke doesn’t recognize all the intricacies of your limb. Hopefully you’ll still walk out in one piece. “Yeah, the very one.”

“Excellent work,” he reiterates. “It was an early research trial, but still yielded some of the most functional and human-like large-scale cybernetics of the last few years. You could’ve done a lot worse. Maybe you already know that, though.”

“Maybe,” you repeat quietly, but you are mostly speaking to yourself now.

—

After the electrode replacement is done in Baekhyun’s home lab, you can finally feel your arm like normal again. Yosuke does a few sensory feedback and dexterity tests to make sure your arm can function as it should, and he promises to come back the next day for another round just to be sure.

You almost don’t want Yosuke to go when he finally does pack up to leave. It feels nice to be around someone who doesn’t inspire some wretched, nonsensical anger in you.

Baekhyun slips back into the lab after Yosuke leaves, and you glance up from your arm at his arrival. He looks at your bandaged shoulder and watches appreciatively as you flex your metal fingers. “All good now?”

“It’s fine,” you mumble. “Thanks.” Saying that word to him is not easy, but you relent, figuring you should at least give him that much. “You should be thanking the gods you don’t have to go through this kinda shit.”

“Really.” It’s not a question, the way he says it. It’s filled with sarcasm. Baekhyun reaches down and rolls up his left pant leg, his chains hanging as he does, and you recoil, confused. Why the fuck is he showing you his bare leg?

“It’s cybernetic,” he says, barely concealed pride in his voice. “You can’t even tell, the work is so good.” Something like jealousy and anger stirs in your chest. Even if you had wanted to tuck those emotions back in, they’ve escaped from the cage now and are intent on running rampant.

“So. Byun Baekhyun is part-metalhead, after all?” You slide off the surgical chair you were sitting in for Yosuke’s procedure, coming to stand a couple feet in front of Baekhyun. You look down at his leg—which, for all intents and purposes, looks like a completely flesh-and-blood limb. “You joker. Quit fuckin’ around.”

“It’s not a lie.” He knows you won’t believe him, so he taps a spot behind his ankle twice. A long, thin panel that stretches from just above his ankle to his upper thigh opens on his leg, exposing the wiring and metal within. You can’t school your expression in time, and your mouth drops. “Incredible, right? Custom-made. So, yes…I do have an idea what it’s like.”

“Custom-made, huh.” You bite your lip so hard you think it might bleed. “Unbelievable. You’re the kind of person who does these things because you want to, because you can, not because your survival hinges on it. You must truly think you’re special.” The words come hurtling past your lips like venom.

“I didn’t choose this on a whim,” Baekhyun argues, straightening up to face you and letting his pant leg back down. The look on his face says his patience has finally run out, presumably tired of you throwing insult after insult at him since you’ve been in his home. “You don’t know anything about me other than what you’ve seen and heard on screens and from others. I’ve tried to get familiar with you. You reject it at every turn.”

“I don’t want to ‘get familiar’ with someone who gets custom cybernetics that cost hundreds of thousands just because they fuckin’ felt like it, while the rest of us have to do it just to get enough money to live for maybe a year on.” You’re gritting your teeth so hard that your jaw feels like it might crack.

Baekhyun steps closer to you, diminishing the space between you further. His eyes burn with animosity. ��I was in a car accident, Y/N. I was just a teenager. No one even knows this but the people closest to me, and I don’t want anyone else to know it. I lost my leg and nearly my life with it. Before you start preaching to me about choices versus survival, realize that you aren’t the only fucking person in the world who’s ever had to do what was needed to survive.”

Your breath catches. You feel like the wind has been knocked out of you. Suddenly, all the fight drains from your system, and you are left feeling deflated and cold. His blazing eyes feel like two bullets trained on you, and your gaze falters.

Baekhyun doesn’t wait to see if you’ll have another response lined up for him; he turns heel and stalks out of the room.

As promised, Yosuke returns the next day for your additional tests. Your conversation with him isn’t as enjoyable as it could be. You are still reeling from Baekhyun’s revelation and unsure how to approach him. Neither of you spoke to each other for the rest of that night, instead choosing to actively avoid each other. You know you can’t keep this game up forever, though.

“Baekhyun’s in a sour mood today,” Yosuke remarks. “Rare for him. Any idea why?”

You shake your head, worrying your lower lip with your teeth. “Mmm...no.”

The slight smile on Yosuke’s face tells you he doesn’t believe you. “Well...I’m sure you two will figure it out sooner or later. He seems to have an affinity for you.”

“What?”

“He was pretty concerned when he contacted me about your arm. He’s mentioned you before then, too. He seems fascinated by you.”

You purse your lips together. You remember his days of annoying flirting in the club, which feel so far away now, and how he’d come to you with a bunch of flowery words and told you he’d taken a liking to you. Perhaps he was really telling the truth about that. You wonder if he possibly mentioned the attempted mugging to Yosuke, and you cough nervously.

“Well, he’s…” you wave your flesh hand, “...a character.”

Yosuke chuckles. “You two seem kind of fitting, I don’t know why. Similar love for recklessness, maybe—from how he describes you, anyway. Like peas in a pod.”

Fitting? Peas in a damn pod? The next words come thoughtlessly rushing out of you in an effort to change his mind and slap away whatever outlandish idea he has of you and the other man. “I don’t want Baekhyun.”

Yosuke raises an eyebrow, though he keeps his gaze on your arm as he watches the movements of your metallic fingers for any irregularities. “I never said you did, Y/N.”

In your haste, it occurs to you that maybe Yosuke really was just referring to your similarities—which you’ll continue to vehemently deny—rather than suggesting any deeper connection. Though that’s what it sounded like to you. Fuck. You don’t know anymore.

Is this what they’d call a Freudian slip, then? How wonderful. You rub your temples with your free hand and shake your head. “Then let’s just forget the last few minutes of this conversation.”

Yosuke smiles. “Whatever you’d like to do.”

—

Yosuke leaves soon after he’s finished testing your arm, but he reassures you that you can see each other again if you feel like having the company—just have Baekhyun arrange things.

Speaking of Baekhyun. You should probably say something to him. You’re not enthusiastic about puttering around his home feeling even more awkward than you did when you first arrived there. So, you walk to his office and knock on the door, turning your ear to it to see if he’ll give a response. You don’t have to wait to hear one, though, because the door panel slides back on its own.

You’ve never been in his office before, though you knew where it was—it was one of the places he decided not to show you on his little house tour—but it’s just as obnoxiously streamlined and full of tech as every other part of his home. Baekhyun sits behind his desk, elbows propped on its surface and fingers crossed together.

“Y/N.” His voice holds none of the playfulness, casualness, or even cool sarcasm you’ve heard from him before.

You step a few feet forward into his office. You feel like you’re standing underneath a spotlight, lit up for the entirety of the world to see. In reality, it’s just you and him here—Byun Baekhyun, one of the richest men in Japan.

He stays silent, presumably waiting for you to speak first. That is what you came here for, so you do, even if it makes you feel like you’re going to peel out of your skin.

“I was a dick. I’m sorry.”

Baekhyun blinks. “An apology? From you? The world must be ending.”

“I’m trying to be serious here, Byun.” You sigh. “I was...wrong to assume what I did about you. I guess...I don’t really know anything about you...but. I felt like I had you all figured out already. So, I’m sorry.”

The tension in Baekhyun’s shoulders releases, if only a little. His expression shifts into something not quite as impenetrable as it was just a few moments ago, but not completely open, either. “Apology accepted, then.”

“Thanks.” You shove your hands into your pockets. “Well, I thought...if I’m not to make any more assumptions about you, I should probably get to know more about you?”

Baekhyun looks interested now, and he releases his hands from their formerly tense position. He leans forward slightly. “Then I should do the same with you.”

Your hackles raise, despite you trying to keep yourself more open-minded. “I...don’t want to. You know enough already.”

Exasperated, Baekhyun spreads his hands out in front of him. “Here we go again. What are you so afraid of? And why even ask me about myself if you don’t want to share anything about you?”

“You can think of it as gathering intel—not making friends. I’m not asking you about your life story so we can have picnics together and talk about our wildest dreams.”

Baekhyun scoffs in disbelief. “When are you ever going to be honest with yourself? Emotional constipation isn’t a good look for you.”

“Honest with myself about what?”

“You are attracted to me. You are interested in me beyond supposedly gathering intel. And for some reason I can’t conceive, it enrages you.” The words come off his lips with the trace of a smirk, and though they make your skin prickle with heat, his smirk makes you want to jump across the desk and land one good punch on him.

You snort. “You’re a piece of work. Attracted to you? Everyone doesn’t throw themselves at the first person with a whiff of money or notoriety.”

Baekhyun gets up from his desk to step closer to you, much like he did the other day. He’s close enough for you to count the moles on his face, barely noticeable except for when he’s at this proximity. His cologne wraps its scented arms around you and pulls you in. You didn’t notice it as acutely yesterday, too embroiled in the argument and trying to process what he revealed to you, but now it hits you full on. How is this not considered some kind of olfactory warfare?

“Then tell me you don’t want me.” He whispers it to you in that same stupid, silky voice he’d always used in the club. That voice, combined with his scent, transports you straight back to that environment—the pungent taste of alcohol, the blinding neon lights, the ear-splitting music. And the one man who you just can’t figure out.

You open your mouth only slightly, afraid to breathe in more of his fragrance and lose yourself to it like a fool. “Fuck you.”

“That’s not an answer.” Baekhyun’s voice remains in the same low whisper, and he grins like he already knows the truth. “But I can do that, if you’d like.”

It doesn’t take much effort for him to close the rest of the space between you. When he kisses you, you don’t slap him, stomp on his foot, or knee him in the balls like you might’ve thought you would. Instead, you kiss him back—gradually, tentatively, but your lips fall into a rhythm with each other’s.

His lip piercing is unyielding on your skin; the edges of it press into your lip. The kiss is not rough or even frantic. You think this all might’ve been easier if it was—easier to allow yourself to keep hating him so intensely and channel that energy into your actions. However, all your previous thoughts of knocking his head off or pulling his lip ring off fall away; you just allow yourself to exist solely in this moment and absorb the feeling of his lips on yours.

Maybe now you could allow yourself to admit—internally, at least—that yes...you did want this. You wanted it from the first ridiculous time you met him in the club, and when he put his insolent hand on your shoulder. Whispered into your ear like he knew exactly what effect it was going to have.

Baekhyun’s bedroom—the one other place he hadn’t shown you besides his office—is neatly arranged and smells entirely like him. Other than those base things, you don’t care what the rest of the room is like. When you both somehow make it there, Baekhyun backs you up onto the bed, his lips still attached to yours.

The weight of his body is solid on yours. His tongue nudging against your lips and asking for entrance makes your body flush with heat. Before you can get fully invested, you pull away. He looks at you questioningly.

“Take this off,” you mutter, pushing his face chains away from you. He laughs lowly, pulling away from you to take his piercing out and put the chains away.

Pulling your clothes off comes naturally; it doesn’t feel clumsy and stilted like it did the last time you slept with someone. Baekhyun’s hands flit over every inch of newly exposed skin he can access.

The way Baekhyun touches your metal arm is reverent, worshipful, and you hadn’t realized how much you needed this—this kind of unabashed admiration—until it happened. No one has ever touched your metal arm in a way that wasn’t clinical or otherwise similarly detached. His fingers glide across it like it’s still made of skin and blood and bone, and he kisses the length of it, up to your neck and all the way back down to your metallic fingers again.

Water beads at the corners of your eyes. You try to ignore it. You don’t even acknowledge the few tears that do slip out, sliding towards your ears from your supine position.

Baekhyun lifts himself to be level with your face again. You turn away from him, too afraid to see whatever emotion will be lying in his eyes—not wanting to reveal the full magnitude of your vulnerability to him—but you don’t say a word when he presses his lips against the tear tracks on your skin.

Funnily, ironically, every motion comes instinctively. Him rocking against you, his heavy, dark breaths echoing in your ears, his long and low moans—your lips searching for his, your teeth creating blooming bruises on his skin. Though you have pushed him away and dismissed his proffered company at every opportunity, this intimacy feels like a grand coming-together—something that was bound to happen at the end of every road.

—

The sheets are twisted, the sweat is cooling on your skin, and you are both tired but satisfied. Content in a way that neither of you have truly been in a long time. You rest your head on Baekhyun’s chest, closing your eyes and listening to him breathe underneath you, the metal of your arm still warm from the heat of his skin.

“I could give you an upgrade.”

Your mouth twitches. You think you might have imagined the words, so you stay silent for a while longer until Baekhyun nudges your arm, checking if you’ve already fallen asleep.

“Upgrade?”

“Your arm. I could...have a new arm built. One like my leg.”

You sit up to look at him, the sheets falling from your body. “Don’t say pretty things you think I want to hear just because you’re still in the post-orgasm haze.”

Baekhyun blows air out of his nose, too tired to properly argue or even scoff at you. “Like I said before, I don’t waste time saying things I don’t mean.” His voice quiets. “We both know you can’t get your limb back, but...I could...give you something to help, at least. It’s...easier to deal with the cybernetics when they actually look like they belong on your body.” You know he speaks from experience there, by the way his gaze falters and drops to his lap.

“To feel more like a human again, huh.” Some part of you—multiple parts of you, maybe—had still been grieving over the arm you’d given up almost two years ago. Maybe it was a silly thing to be hurt over compared to the many other problems in your world, but it was difficult to stop feeling like you’d sold away a portion of yourself for nothing. Nothing but fleeting money.

Baekhyun’s offer stirs something in you. You turn your body away from him, feeling the tingle in your nose and eyes again that could only signal one thing. “Stop doing this. Being so...I don’t know, forgiving. Not after all I’ve done and said to you.”

Baekhyun sits up then, resting his hands on your arms. “I want to do this for you. Stop acting like you don’t deserve anything good in the world.”

You turn back to face him after a long moment, though the tears still linger in your eyes. “I don’t want to be the only one who benefits.” You shake your head slowly. “If you really agree to give me a new arm...you have more than enough resources to help change the nightmare Lower Tokyo has become. Help them. Help us. I don’t want to be some one-off experiment or pet project you discard once you’ve gotten your fill—some broken bitch from Lower Tokyo you think you can fix and turn into one of your family’s many success stories.”

Baekhyun is breathless from your admission; this is the most transparent you’ve been with him since you’ve met. Though part of him wants to shrivel back from your words, he clings to your long-awaited honesty, even if it is only shared with him to rebuke him and his family’s selfishly opulent ways. He thinks of why you pushed so hard against him trying to make a personal domain of Lower Tokyo, leaving the comforts of his own place to absorb the shadows of yours, and a better understanding of your rejection begins to dawn in his mind. Tentatively, he brings one of his hands from your arm to your cheek, thinking you might still wince away from him, but you don’t move.

“You’re right.” His voice is tight with the knowledge of it. “I can help, Y/N. You, and everyone else. I mean—I will. If there is one thing you can trust me on…let it be this.”

You stare into his dark brown eyes, trying to hunt for any signs of dishonesty, though you find none. There is only the heat of his hand on your face, and his open, yielding expression. “I will hold you to that, Byun Baekhyun.”

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osakaso5 · 3 years

Text

IDOLiSH7 6th Anniversary Special Story: Full of Heart...

Chapter 4: Unreasonable Demands

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Tamaki Yotsuba: I'm glad you can get your photo now, So-chan. But are you sure you can make it to the North Pacific?

Sogo Osaka: I think so... He did say he could make a stop at the nearest yacht harbor.

Sogo Osaka: What about your photo? You mentioned that Re:vale could help...

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yeah. I just messaged them, and they said they were gonna come pick us up.

Sogo Osaka: Pick us up?

[Toot toot!]

Tamaki Yotsuba: Ah! That's Momorin's car!

Momo: Tamaki! Sogo!

Yuki: Good evening.

Sogo Osaka: I'm sorry you had to come all this way! Tamaki-kun didn't tell me you were coming for us until just now...

Momo: It's fine! Hop on!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Where are we going?

Yuki: Back in time.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Heh. If I could time travel, there's a ton of stuff I'd wanna do.

Yuki: Same here.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I bet you would too, So-chan.

Sogo Osaka: Sure.

Momo: I've got a ton of stuff I'd change, too. But sorry, we're not actually going back in time. We're going to Yuki's place!

Tamaki Yotsuba: That's fine. There's a bunch of stuff I wanna do there, too.

Yuki: Like what?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Playing the guitar. Teach me.

Yuki: Okay.

Sogo Osaka: You could've asked me, too... Though I'm sure Yuki-san has better foundations and technique...

Tamaki Yotsuba: I don't wanna learn from you. You'd get on my case about being bad. Yukirin seems way nicer.

Yuki: I'm a lot scarier than you think.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Huh..? Oh, right. No way am I gonna learn from you. I'll just ask Ban-chan.

Yuki: Ban's not any better, you know. He'll click his tongue and call you an amateur.

Tamaki Yotsuba: If he did that, I'd start crying...

Sogo Osaka: I would, too...

Momo: I'd cry so much, my tear ducts would never recover...

[Toot toot!]

Momo: Ah! We can talk later! Hurry up and get in the car!

Sogo Osaka: ...Thank you!

Momo: Off we go!

- - - -

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yaaay! Long time no see, Yukirin's place.

Sogo Osaka: Tamaki-kun, you could at least thank Yuki-san for his hospitality.

Yuki: It's fine... Hey. Tamaki-kun, wait, at least put some slippers on before you walk in.

Tamaki Yotsuba: It's fine.

Yuki: It's not fine. Put them on.

Sogo Osaka: I'm sorry about him! I'll make him wear them! Tamaki-kun, come back here. You can't just run into people's homes like that.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I was so excited that I had to floor it.

Momo: I guess you'll need to install traffic lights at your entrance hall, Yuki.

Yuki: I'll paint a little crosswalk on the floor while I'm at it.

Sogo Osaka: Thank you, and I'm very sorry for the trouble...

Yuki: I was joking. I guess you can be a bit soft on Tamaki-kun, too.

Sogo Osaka: Oh, that was a joke?

Momo: So, what's up?

Momo: You needed help finding a childhood photo for Welcome to Kids' Room, right?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yeah...

Tamaki Yotsuba: Y'know the apartments I used to live at? There was this guy there who had a camera.

Momo: A guy with a camera?

Tamaki Yotsuba: I forget his name, but I think he lived in our neighborhood. He took a family photo of us.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I wanna meet him, so I can ask if he could reprint the picture we put in Mom's casket...

Tamaki Yotsuba: And for that, I need you guys to make some shady deals.

Re:vale: Shady deals..?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yeah.

Re:vale: Shady deals!?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yeah. I need the help of some underground type guys for this. Can't Re:vale make that happen?

Yuki: You want us...

Momo: To make shady deals...

Sogo Osaka: Re:vale... Please. If it's at all possible, then I'd like you to help him, too.

Momo: Now even Sogo's asking... No, hold on just a minute!

Momo: I'm not sure where you got the idea that we make ANY kind of shady deals to begin with. Yuki, do you know what they're talking about?

Yuki: I have no idea. You?

Momo: Nope... I feel like shady deals are the one thing we can't help with...

Tamaki Yotsuba: No way... I was sure you guys would have some leads.

Yuki: What kind of a deal were you planning?

Momo: I think we'll be more helpful than any of the "underground type guys" you had in mind.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I need someone to hack into every surveillance camera in the world, to find out where that dude is now.

Sogo Osaka: Every surveillance camera in the world..?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Even though most people don't realize it, there's shady organizations that control the world from the shadows!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Or at least that's what it said in this "Scary Truths of the World" book that Isumin had.

Yuki: You mean you read it in some book about the occult? And you went ahead and assumed we were associated with these shady organizations?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yeah... Re:vale kinda gives me that sort of vibe sometimes...

Momo: I never knew people saw us that way. Heh, not bad.

Yuki: So basically, you want to know where that camera guy is now? Good thing I happen to know a private detective.

Sogo Osaka: You know a private detective? Did you meet him while studying for a role?

Yuki: No... I met him while looking for your manager...

Tamaki Yotsuba: Oh, Ban-chan!

Yuki: Yep.

Momo: But if that private detective couldn't find Ban-san, how useful could he possibly be?

Yuki: Probably not very useful, no.

Momo: But you still kept him on your payroll?

Yuki: Well, Ban taught me not to keep replacing our bandmates, and you taught me to hold people dear...

Momo: Oh, Yuki! You're such a good boy!!! You're a gentleman and a hottie rolled into one!

Yuki: I sure am. I'll even forgive you for our earlier argument.

Tamaki Yotsuba: You guys had a fight?

Momo: We butted heads over our Welcome to Kids' Room photos, that's all.

Sogo Osaka: But why would you fight over your childhood pictures..?

Momo: Well...

- - - -

Rinto Okazaki: Then it's settled. This will be your picture for the show, Momo-kun, and this will be yours, Yuki-kun.

Yuki: Wow..! You look adorable, Momo! A little round-cheeked boy with a tan, playing soccer. It's so cute.

Momo: ...Holy crap... A listless pretty boy, playing the guitar...

Yuki: I like this photo. I feel like it'd be a great source of energy whenever I'm tired from work.

Yuki: I know we talked using each other's selfies as lock screen backgrounds, but I think these childhood photos would work better.

Rinto Okazaki: Great idea! I happen to have these picture lockets, would you like some?

Yuki: A locket? If I put Momo's picture in that, it'd be like he's my son.

Yuki: That could be kind of funny. Should we try it?

Momo: No way...

Yuki: What!?

Momo: I can't take this photo! As both your fan and your partner, I think this picture's bad news!

Yuki: How is it bad news!? Are you saying I'm not cute in it!?

Rinto Okazaki: I think you're positively adorable!

Momo: You're wearing SHORTS! Since when do you wear shorts!? There's no way we can show this on TV!

Yuki: And why not? Even I was once an innocent kid, like Iori-kun and Tamaki-kun.

Rinto Okazaki: I think you're still plenty innocent, Yuki-kun!

Yuki: That's it. I'm making a copy of this picture, and putting it inside your locket.

Momo: Oh, no you don't! I'm not wearing that, you hear me!?

Yuki: But you said we should use each other's pictures as lock screens!

Momo: I didn't say anything about our childhood pictures! I'm gonna lose my mind if I have to walk around with a picture like this dangling from my neck!

Momo: And how did you just so happen to have two lockets lying around!?

Rinto Okazaki: The president got them for you.

Yuki: He wants us to have each other's pictures?

Rinto Okazaki: No, he actually wanted you to have a childhood photo of himself and I.

Momo: Wait, I wanna see that!

Rinto Okazaki: Here it is.

Momo: Wow! You went to a studio for this one!

Momo: Okarin, is the one sitting on the chair you? Does that mean our prez is the one standing up?

Rinto Okazaki: That's correct.

Yuki: You and Rintaro look really alike. The suits look chic, so it's actually kind of cool.

Yuki: Was this taken for a special occasion?

Rinto Okazaki: Our neighborhood cameraman needed something to display on his shop window, so he took a picture of us.

Rinto Okazaki: We received the lockets as thanks.

Rinto Okazaki: He thought that if we brothers kept a picture with us, we'd always be able to find each other, no matter how far apart we end up.

Yuki: Huh. So it's a novelty gift. If you can call it that, anyway.

Rinto Okazaki: This was 20 years ago. Come to think of it, there was a picture of the cameraman's two sons on the window, too.

Rinto Okazaki: Though even our parents said they'd only ever seen the older brother.

Yuki: I see. Maybe something happened to the younger one, then. Poor thing...

Rinto Okazaki: Perhaps...

Rinto Okazaki: The older son's business failed, too, and eventually, the camera shop closed its doors for good.

Rinto Okazaki: My brother remembered the cameraman thanks to this picture. That was probably why he wanted you to have some, too.

Momo: So we could keep each other's pictures close by?

Rinto Okazaki: No. Like I said, it's our picture he wants you to put in the lockets.

Yuki: I think Rintaro's a little too in love with himself.

Rinto Okazaki: I'm sorry about him...

Momo: Ahaha! Still I think it could be funny to walk around with your picture hanging from our necks! Right, Yuki?

Momo: It would really show off our loyalty to Okazaki Productions, don't you think!?

Yuki: ......... Do you really hate the idea of having my picture that much..?

Momo: Uh, no...

Yuki: I see how it is. You refuse to keep my picture in a locket, but the Okazakis are fine?

Momo: I didn't mean it like that...

Rinto Okazaki: Ah, how unusual. Normally, it's Momo-kun doing these sort of interrogations.

Yuki: I can keep your photo in a locket, you know. I could even make you lunch for your practice match, Momose-kun.

Momo: Dang! I'm starting to feel jealous over my picture self..!

Yuki: I hope you'll grow up into an idol and be happy with me.

Momo: I don't think I can talk to your picture that easily... Or that casually...

Momo: Then again, wouldn't it be a little pervy if I started calling this picture of my partner "Master Yuki", or something..!?

Rinto Okazaki: I don't see the problem. Re:vale's already got an eccentric image, after all.

Yuki: I feel bad for my unwanted younger self. Give him back to me. I'll raise him with little Momose here.

Momo: I told you, that's not it! I'd never neglect little Yukito-san..!

Rinto Okazaki: There you go, starting some bizarre family roleplay. Allow me and my brother's picture to join in!

- - - -

Momo: And that's how we started arguing.

Sogo Osaka: That sounds rough...

Yuki: Here's Momo's picture, by the way.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Wow! Momorin was so cute! Used to be super tan, too! With shiny white teeth!

Sogo Osaka: You really did put it in the locket.

Momo: Wanna see Okarin and his brother?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Okarin was adorbs, too! And I've never seen his brother! He's cute!

Yuki: Not anymore, he's not.

Sogo Osaka: So you did use Okazaki-san's picture for the locket.

Momo: I thought it'd be funny, and a good way to advertise our agency... Yuki's is too real for me to walk around wearing it. Do you get what I'm saying, Yuki?

Yuki: Not at all. I still feel bad for little me.

Momo: Don't you get grumpy on me again!

Yuki: ...In any case, I can introduce you to a useless private detective.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I'd rather you introduce me to a useful one. Does your detective pal know any better detectives?

Momo: Good point. If he's in the business, he's gotta know who his biggest rivals are!

Yuki: I'll try asking him.

[Dial tone]

Yuki: Hello, it's Yuki from Re:vale. Do you know any good detectives, other than you? Like, the king of private detecting or something...

Yuki: What..? There's a detective so great, he's only spoken of in legends..?

Tamaki Yotsuba: ........! A legendary detective..!!!

Sogo Osaka: He sounds like someone who could help! That's great, Tamaki-kun!

Yuki: I have a job for that detective. Get in touch with him for me. I need to find somebody. Yeah. I'm counting on you.

[Beep]

Momo: He's going to introduce us to a legendary detective!?

Yuki: He's willing to try, at least. I'll get in touch as soon as I hear from him again, Tamaki-kun.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Okay! Thanks!

Yuki: But... If it's too hard for you to get a hold of that picture, you can quit if you want, you know.

Momo: You guys must have better things to do, anyway. It's not like Ban-san or Maneko-chan are forcing you to do this, right?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yeah, but...

Tamaki Yotsuba: I wanna have something like this pic of Momorin playing soccer, or Yukirin playing the guitar.

Re:vale: .........

Momo: Right. I hope you find your picture, Tamaki. We'll help in any way we can.

Yuki: If you run into trouble, call us.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Ehehe... Okay!

- - - -

Sogo Osaka: .........

Sogo Osaka: They even drove us back to the dorm.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Yukirin's cooking was so yummy, and Momorin played with me a lot. Re:vale's super nice!

Sogo Osaka: It's because you're such a good kid.

Tamaki Yotsuba: .........

Sogo Osaka: You're so honest and kind, there's not a single person who wouldn't want you to live a happy life.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Haha... That's the opposite of what I used to hear, though.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Like when something I had broke, or something didn't make it to me in time, or something I'd been excited for didn't work out.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Apparently it was all a punishment, 'cause I'm such a bad, nasty kid.

Sogo Osaka: ........

Tamaki Yotsuba: I'd get mad and yell, "That's not true!", but still. Sometimes when I'm having a bad day, I remember that stuff.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I fall down, or something I like breaks, or I get caught in a rainstorm... And I wonder if I'm being punished.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I mean, I'm not THAT good of a kid. I don't work hard, I'm kinda rude. Plus I'm dumb.

Tamaki Yotsuba: ...If I was smarter, maybe I would've gotten a copy of that photo before it went into Mom's casket.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I don't have any pictures 'cause I'm an idiot who can't take proper care of anything.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Meanwhile, you're good at keeping things clean, and you do everything right.

Sogo Osaka: ...You're not an idiot, and the photo thing wasn't your fault.

Sogo Osaka: I can't believe anyone would say things like that to a child. Of course you're not being punished.

Tamaki Yotsuba: .........

Sogo Osaka: I can guarantee that you're not, so don't worry.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Ahaha! So-chan, you're acting kinda cool all of a sudden.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Thanks.

To be continued...

#idolish7 #anniversary story 2021 #translation #i7 #trigger #re:vale #zool #other translations

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1plus1kiyoomi · 4 years

Text

Chapter 16: 6PM Walks

[prev] [next]

[masterlist] [kia’s slambook]

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“What did you call me a while ago?” Kiyoomi asks Kia, not listening to what you’re saying.

“Kiyoomi, this isn’t our issue right now.”

“No, it is. She has to call me that again.”

“She won’t.”

“She will. She did it a while ago.”

“Kia’s probably playing with you,” you mumble to yourself, but you leave the two of them to continue making breakfast before the whole fiasco. You figure that Sakusa is too excited being called papa that he won’t listen to anything you will say at the moment.

“Kia say it again. What you called me a while ago,” Kiyoomi asks Kia. They are on the couch in the living room, Kia’s eyes stuck on the television screen. She ignores Kiyoomi. He takes the remote and turns the TV off. The little girl looks at him in disapproval. “Say it again and I will turn the TV on.”

“What?” Kia asks, obviously not hearing Kiyoomi’s pleads a while back.

“What did you call me a while ago?” Kiyoomi pushes, his eyes piercing through hers, begging.

“Kyo,” Kia deadpans.

Kiyoomi pouts, turning the TV back on. He leaves Kia on the couch, then goes to you at kitchen. You don’t notice him so he just leans his back on the counter, admiring you from behind. You looked so cute with his shirt and boxers on, the apron you’re wearing is the cherry on top. He’s trying his best not to jump on you especially that Kia is just there.

You, on the other hand, are slicing the apples, Saki in your mind. “That fucking bitch,” you mutter, slicing rougher than needed. “She better not show up here again.”

“Have mercy on the apples,” Kiyoomi chuckles. He wraps his arms around your waist, his chin on top of your head. You continue to slice, Kiyoomi carefully watching your hands. “Where’s the ring I gave you?”

“It’s in my bag. I took it off when we were in Universals since it was slipping off my finger. I was scared I’d lose it,” you reply. His hug feels comforting so you slow down in slicing. “Have you given up on Kia calling you papa?”

“No,” he huffs, his chin now on your shoulder. You giggle at his determination. “You’re probably shocked about what happened.”

“Didn’t know your fuck buddy was psycho,” you respond. He starts leaving small kisses on your exposed neck, so you put the knife down and turn to him. “Kiyoomi, why are you so touchy today?”

“What do you mean? I was also touchy yesterday,” he corrects you. His hands intertwine with yours as he brings it close to his. He gives all your fingers soft kisses, completely calming you down. “You seem so stressed. You should get a massage or something.”

“That sounds nice.” You smile at the thought of simply relaxing. Ever since you had given birth to Kia, time for yourself was impossible.

“Then take a day off from being a mom today,” Kiyoomi mumbles, planting a kiss on your forehead. You look up to him in confusion. “I’ll drop you off at the mall. I actually booked you an appointment at a salon and spa a week ago.” You stare at him in suspicion but he seems solely genuine about wanting you to relax.

“What about Kia?” You ask hesitantly.

“I’ll take good care of her,” he responds. “Get changed. I’ll continue making breakfast.”

After eating breakfast with Kiyoomi and Kia, they send you off to the mall. You are so excited to relax. “Me time” is rare as a mother. You shall cherish it without questions on how and why you got to do it.

As you left the car, Kia and Kiyoomi drive to another street in the city of Osaka. They leave the car, and go to a small cafe that doesn’t have a lot of customers. A woman waves at him and he goes to where she’s seated.

“Kyo who’s that?”

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You finish your appointments at around 5:30 PM. Kiyoomi really wanted you to relax. He had appointed a full body massage for you, a hair treatment appointment, manicure and pedicure and lunch at a 4-star sushi place; he’s spoiling you.

You see his car at the driveway outside the mall. You enter his car, then you sanitize your hands. Kia is asleep so you keep quiet. You take a look at him and he looks nervous.

“Are you okay?” You ask him and he nods. You eye him warily as he starts driving off without a word. “What did the two of you do today?”

“We went to a cafe, then met up with my nutritionist. Kia is also gave him a checkup. Apparently, Kia is taller than most of her peers. She’s 8 centimeters away from 100cm and she’s only 30 months old...” Kiyoomi states in a stressed manner.

“Are you afraid she’ll get bullied by other kids for her height?” You look at him and he seemed upset about it. “On the brighter side, with her height she can be a volleyball player like you.” You reassure him, he still looks like he’s on the edge.

“It’s the flower field Kia and I went to a while ago. Do you wanna take a walk?” He suddenly suggests, looking out the window of his car. You hum as a yes, then he parks his car somewhere near the flower field.

“Baby...” You coo at Kia, taking her seatbelt off. Her eyes slowly flutter open and she smiles when she sees you. You lift her off her chair then close the car’s door.

You look around, and notice that there aren’t a lot of people. No wonder why Kiyoomi wanted to take a walk. The place is peaceful and breathtaking. Rows of different kinds of flowers, but mostly roses and tulips. You look down to Kia and see that she is staring at the sun setting over the flower field.

You finally sense Kiyoomi beside you, but the energy he’s giving is off. You take a glance at him and he isn’t wearing his mask on. Now your suspicion has risen to the highest level. You want to ask him about it but Kia suddenly wriggles out of your hold. You run after her but stop when you see two familiar boys.

“Mu-chan! Ki-chan!” She squeals in excitement, running towards the said boys. You greet them with a wave as they are standing from a far. You watch Kia run to them before walking towards them too.

“Mama! Turn around!” Kia shouts but you don’t hear properly.

“Turn! Around!” Atsumu shouts this time, signaling you turn with his hand. You raise an eyebrow at them before turning around.

3rd Year, Itachiyama Academy

August 19

“Omi... I suddenly thought of something,” you spoke, watching the sunset. You two were at his backyard, enjoying your first anniversary in the comfort of his home. “How will you propose to me?”

“Are you really thinking about marriage just because we’ve been dating for a year now?” Sakusa squinted his eyes at you. You shrugged, leaning on his shoulder.

“I’m just curious since you hate surprises. You might tell me to get my nails done a week before so it’d look good in pictures,” you joked. He let out a chuckle in agreement.

“I might do that.” He saw the excitement in your eyes. Now, he’s curious about your dream proposal. “How do you want me to propose? Do you want a grand one or a simple one?”

“I want you to propose just like this,” you replied, eyes glued on the setting sun. “You, me, on our anniversary, with the sun setting.”

“Do I have to be on my knee? The ground might be dirty,” he rambled so you pouted.

“How is it a proposal if you don’t go on one bended knee?!”

“Then I’ll do that,” he replied, determined. There was no hesitance in his response so your heart beat faster.

“Really?” You asked, hopeful. You were now looking at him and so was he.

“Yes.”

“Sakusa Kiyoomi, why?!” You exclaim as you cover your face with your hands, tears already falling from your eyes.

The Sakusa Kiyoomi who well known as a germaphobe is on his knee in front you, with a ring in his hand. You check your phone to see the date, just to make sure. August 19. You cry even harder, not able to process what’s happening. Your heart is about to jump out of your chest. How does he remember even that?

“Will you marry me?”

Unable to answer due to too much emotions, you pull him up and kiss him deeply, hooking your arm on his neck, pulling him close to you. He wraps his arms around your waist, lifting you up the ground in excitement. He puts you back on the ground, then gives you another chaste kiss before slipping the ring in your ring finger. He gives it a kiss, before kissing you once more.

“Mama!” You hear Kia run to the two you. Kiyoomi lifts Kia with one arm, his other arm not leaving you. “Look! Kyo proposed to me too!”

“Kyo who’s that?” Kia asked as she and Kiyoomi sat in the same table with a strange woman.

“Is this your daughter?” The woman asked Sakusa. He nodded. Kia was still looking at her weirdly. “Hi, I’m Nako. I’m a jewelry maker. I make necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Do you wanna see?”

“Sorry, I’m late,” a familiar voice spoke, catching Kia’s full atention.

“Mu-chan!” Kia greeted him with a kiss. He sat down beside her, greeting Nako and his teammate with a smile and wave. Nako was Atsumu’s classmate in high school that has become a famous jeweler in Japan.

“Here’s the ring and necklace you have requested to custom made,” Nako told Kiyoomi, handing him two black velvet boxes. “Just as requested, a palladium engagement ring with a 2.4 carat round cut diamond. And in this box we have a 14k white gold ring attached to a 14k white gold chain. I also made sure that this won’t choke your daughter. But to be extra careful, take it off during her sleep or if she’s playing without you or your wife around.”

They finished their transaction and Nako left, leaving the boys with Kia in the cafe. “So we’ll wait for at the flower field near your house and Kia will run to us, then you’ll propose?” Atsumu clarified.

“Yes. That’s right,” Kiyoomi approved. “Please thank Kita-san for me.”

“I will. I will. We’ll meet you there.” Atsumu bid his good byes, leaving the father-daughter duo.

“Papa what’s the rings for?” Kia asked, staring at the shiny jewelry set in front of her.

“Baby, I’ll propose to your mama,” Kiyoomi started to explain. “I’ll give her this ring so we can get married and we’ll be together forever.” He tried to explain in simpler words so the child could understand.

“Why do you want to be with mama forever?” Kia questioned, which made Kiyoomi smile.

“Because I love your mama.”

“How about Kia? Do you love Kia?” Kia tilted her head to the side, her hopeful eyes peering at his. He cupped her cheek, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“So much. I love Kia so much,” he replied. “That’s why I’m giving you this.” Kiyoomi took the necklace out of the box, presenting it to her.

“You’re proposing to Kia?” She asked in an excited manner, her hands clasped together, pressing them close to her chest. “You wanna be together with Kia forever?”

Kia started crying in joy so Kiyoomi picked her up from her chair, giving her a tight hug. Her sobs quiet down so Kiyoomi put the necklace on her. She hugs him again, giving him a lot of kisses.

“I love papa, too.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Facts:

The idea and tradition of engagement rings dates back to ancient Egypt. The Egyptians believed circles were symbols of eternity.

The truth is the most popular engagement month in a year is December.

In all, about 70% of brides wear their rings on the fourth finger of their left hand; a tradition that comes from the Roman belief that the vena amoris, or vein of love, was located there.

Wedding rings were traditionally made of gold because it was considered the most pure and valuable metal, and was thought to perfectly symbolize marriage.

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#haikyuu smau #haikyuu x reader #sakusa smau #sakusa x reader #sakusa kiyoomi #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu sakusa #haikyuu series #sakusa imagines

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kyotakumrau · 3 years

Text

2021.04.06 a talk event at Meguro Rock-May-Kan film screening at Namba Hatch with Kyo and Shinya - PART 1 Report by とあ on twitter (topics are not reported in order things happened, I mostly followed the order they posted, 1st and 2nd session bits are mixed together) my comments go in (*…)

Shinya entered the stage in black hoodie, both hands in his pockets. He also had hands in the pockets when he left the stage. Came with a drink.

Kyo came on stage with his arms crossed. He drank some water soon after sitting down, I thought he started to play with the flyer but he made an airplane from it. Q “To Die. Please tell us the secret of your youth.” Kyo and Shinya face each other and laugh. Kyo: Is it okay to imagine what Die is doing? I said that I quit McDonalds, right? Die also said he hasn’t had McD in years. Fujieda: He also said he doesn’t eat ramen. Kyo: and he doesn’t eat spicy food. Kyo: Now he’s just eating, like tofu? Tofu or soybeans. Shinya: he researched and knows a lot. Even when going on a diet in the past he found a good plan. During the rapid question time they also answered another one for Die “I bought Die’s model guitar. Please tell me how can I get better” when reading Kyo answered “tooth guitar”. I think it was when reading about this guitar? Kyo started laughing then Fujieda started laughing and for a bit they both faced each other laughing.

“Coffee” Kyo: I drink it black. Even at home. Using beans from Starbucks. I drink 1~3 cups a day. Fujieda: Kaldi’s coffee is also great. They have many types. Kyo: If you say that they have many different types you have to try them to compare. You don’t say this even though you didn’t drink them, right? Fujieda: I tried quite a lot. There’s different one for each season. Now they sell sakura blend etc. Kyo: Ah, then it’s fine. If you drank it. Shinya: some years back I bought Nespresso coffee maker but I’ve only used it for 2 weeks. It’s still in my house. Kyo (suddenly looking at Shinya): gimme! (くれ!) Shinya: o, okay. Kyo (turning to Fujieda looking happy): he said okay! Kyo: Then I will give you a coupon to get that right side curl fixed. it caught my eye that looking from here that just the right side of your hair has this weird curl. Shinya: No, it’s not weird... Kyo: But I will give you a voucher to get that fixed.

“What’s your routine before the show?” Both of them don’t have one Kyo: Does anyone have? Fujieda: Toshiya is doing muscle training. Kyo: Ah... and doesn’t Die move around a lot? Shinya: He does. Until the start he’s very restless. Kyo: Right? Even when we all gather one is always going back and forth. “Your favourite takoyaki” Shinya: I don’t care. Even though I’m from Osaka I don’t really eat takoyaki. It is said that every household in Kansai will have a takoyaki machine but we didn’t. In the 20 years I lived there I only had like 5 octopus balls. Kyo: That time when you were wearing that long earring? You only had 5? So what type? Shinya: the one that is crispy outside and soft inside

“A difficult song” Shinya: Rinkaku. Because I need to keep kicking. It’s faster than Zan. The drum is nice but it totally kills my leg. Kyo: DIFFERENT SENSE as I said before. I imagined a dialogue as it’s a heavy song when I made it, but when I didn’t get any response, I ended up having to sing all of it by myself so it’s really tiring. I tried control my breathing when swimming but I can’t. Kyo: So in the end it’s like swimming the whole thing without breathing. I was told by Kaoru to try pointing the mic [at fans], but all I get is ‘eh right now?’ (gestures pointing with his right arm) I get ‘eh here?’ The people in front of me try to respond, but the people on the sides (again points with his right arm) go ’eh? Eh? Here? (agitated) so I gave up. I don’t mind if it’s the wrong pitch, just put your feelings into it.

Kyo: I started playing Monster Hunter. On Switch. Takabayashi: I’m also playing. Kyo: Then let’s play together! (big grin) Takabayashi: Okay. Shinya: I bought it on the day DS got released, but I couldn’t understand the objective of the game after playing for a day so I didn’t feel like playing anymore. Kyo: So you just started playing from zero by yourself? No one helped you saying what to do? Shinya: Yup. Kyo: If you told me I’d have helped you. Shinya: So in the end what happens? What is the goal? Kyo: there’s none. Shinya: What? Kyo: You just continue getting your level up. Shinya: And for how long do you continue to play? Kyo: There are people who continue playing until the next game comes out. Shinya: Woah...

"What weapons you're using in Monster Hunter" Kyo: I'm using a bow. It might seem it's because it's huge, but I can attack from a distance and avoid being found. Make a shot from a distance, if you're found out you can run away. Direct confrontation is scary.

“During the Osaka period what studio did you use?” Kyo: Was it in Umeda? Shinya: Yup. Fujieda: What was the name? Kyo: I don’t remember. Do you? Shinya: Yes. It was M4　www.m4-studio.com Kyo: That’s some memory. Shinya: I booked it. I confirmed the date with 4 of you and called them. We made Karma and Aoi Tsuki there.

“About Oboro teaser” Kyo: Could you see me? I only watched it on my phone so couldn’t tell what was what.

“Rock-May-KanGIG" Shinya: there were many problems... no one around me [to help]. When my ear monitor fell out I had to fix it myself. And I made this rookie mistake of not pressing record on camera... Kyo: We don’t remember things like that. Kyo: Do you remember what you ate a month ago? You don’t right? It’s the same. You might remember that the main dish was shrimp but you won’t remember sides. “About SOGAI in May” Kyo: something that will happen in a month...Do you think about what you will be eating in a month? Fujieda: But I think many fans are looking forward to it. Kyo: I guess, but that’s because they’re going to enjoy the food. From the side of people who will be cooking you only start preparing about a week before, no? Fujieda: So you will start feeling motivated a week before... Kyo: Nope. Fujieda: Shinya, do you think this analogy works? Shinya: After hearing it I think so.

“What are some food combinations that you find just wrong?” (*from other twitter reports the question had example like pineapple in sweet sour pork etc) Shinya: as long as there’s no foods I dislike anything is okay. Kyo: I don’t have any food like that, but but I hate when people mix different sports brands. Wearing adidas with Nike shoes and so on. When I see someone like that I want to tell them ‘could you not?’

“What expensive item have you bought recently?”

Shinya: I’ve already answered this earlier. A camera. The camera itself was 40k and lens was 20k yen. Kyo: What do you use the camera for? Shinya: For recording and so on. Kyo: What kind of [recording]? Shinya: For youtube or Haiiro. Kyo: Isn’t iPhone good enough for that? Kyo: When I’m taking a photo I just pass my iPhone and ask someone. Fujieda: I was given a camera for taking photos, but after about 15 minutes I was told to use iPhone in the end. Kyo: Do you know what was different? Fujieda: I didn’t. Kyo: (*going back to the main question) an expensive item... Nike and Garcons sneakers I guess. They were about 20k yen.　(*Pegasus?) I’m drinking coffee while looking at the sneakers.

“Do you prefer indoor or outdoor festivals?” Shinya: If it’s daytime then indoor. It would be too bright outdoor in daytime. Kyo: I hate insects so indoor. Weren’t there so many insects when you had plants? Fujieda: Speaking of insects, don't they get into your mouth when you ride a bike? Kyo: You ride a bike with an open mouth? Silly kid. Fujieda: Instead of having open mouth, it's like there's suddenly an insect in your mouth, when it crashes into you. Kyo: Riding a bike with an open mouth is silly. Why, are you singing? Fujieda: Sometimes I do, actually. Kyo: If you're singing while riding that's okay, if you just have your mouth open while riding that's silly.

"About SOGAI in May" Shinya: We're working on the setlist, it will be great. Kyo: That's why I don't want you to ask me about a concert in a month. Don't ask me questions about concerts next year. I won't answer.

"What's a good place in Hirakata?" Shinya: Hira pa (Hirakata Park) and TSUTAYA, right? TSUTAYA is where I was born. Fujiefa: Eh? Really? I didn't know. Kyo: if in Tokyo you say Hirapa no one will understand Kyo: Do you know? (looks at Shinya) when you just come in and there's a place with dogs Shinya: Like real dogs? Kyo: Yeah. There are about 20 dogs, but all are so tired. Lifeless as if they were abused. Of course they weren't abused, but it's a place where you can spend some time with dogs but they are so tired, so lifeless and tired that it's almost a shame they are kept there. (*I think he's talking about Doubutsu Hug Hug Town)

"What hotel facilities do you find exciting?" Shinya: ...for example? Fujieda: ehm... Kyo: This is not something exciting, but. You know in a shower? When you don't know if you're supposed to move the handle up or down? Maybe this way? And then when you move it the water suddenly comes out from above! (Shinya nods) Fujieda: That's criminal! Was it hot? Kyo: First water came out, but when I turned the handle the water suddenly poured from above, I got totally soaked. How do you use that? Shinya: there are some places where water comes out in 3 places instead of 2. Fujieda: Criminal! Fujieda: Anything exciting? Shinya: Like? Fujieda: Like a big tv. Shinya: I don't watch TV. Dujieda: That's true, you don't. How about a very good pillow? Shinya: I don't care. Kyo: And the shower [head]! Just from one hole the water goes in a strange direction, there's nothing stuck there, just water, but just this one spot. What's that about? (Shinya continued to nod while smiling)

"To Shinya. What time did you wake up today?" Shinya: Around 1. At night. Fujieda: What time did you go to bed? Shinya: I think about 10pm. Fujieda: You almost didn't sleep at all. Kyo: Aren't you an old man now! (*🤣🤣🤣🤣)

"What toothpaste and toothbrush are you using?" Kyo: Any toothpaste is okay, but I prefer small toothbruses. Because I have very complex teeth. Like a maze. You get lost there. That's why I choose a tothbrush with a small head, has good reach. Shinya: I'm using a toothpaste from overseas with an M, any brush is okay for me. But I use one with water coming out of it. Fujieda: Is it electric? Shinya: Yes. Fujieda: Is it painful? Shinya: Well sometimes it gets a bit bloody. Kyo: You're really into it (laughing) to keep using it even if you're bleeding.

Kyo is watching The world unknown to Matsuko every week (depends on the episode but it's interesting), when finishing the 2nd sessiin event Shinya said 'go straight home and from 8:57 watch The world unknown to Matsuko'. It already started and it seems [dir] appeared there.

"Where do you want to tour besides Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka?" Shinya: Somewhere we still haven't been to... where was it? Takabayashi: ehm... Shimane, Wakayama, Saga. Shinya: There. Kyo: Kyoto. Kyoto is good. Kyoto is the best. Even now I'd love to [have an event] in Kyoto instead. Kyoto is the best or, I want to become Kyoto.

"What animals do you like in the zoo?" Kyo: ehm... sheep I guess. I want to look at them or hold them. Shinya: Animals you don't see in everyday life like giraffes, elephants or lions.

"What do you like in an amusement park?" Kyo: I guess the haunted house? Yeah, haunted house. It's okay when people try to scare me. It's not scary. I'm laughing all the time. Fujieda: So you can enjoy FujiQ no problem? Kyo: I haven't been, but I think it's fine? I would be fine bringing a sheep with me I guess? Going in while stroking the fluffy sheep. Shinya: Ferris Wheel. Fujieda: How about the thrilling ones? Shinya: I don't like them. Fujieda: So Ferris Wheels for Shinya, understood.

"About shooting Oboro PV" Shinya: It was tough. Kyo: You say that? Say that to ME?? Shinya: Well, you were shooting naked. The green stuff got all over my clothes and cleaning that took ages. Kyo: Ah, I guess. But you could've gotten it dry cleaned, no? Shinya: It was a fabric that cannot be dry cleaned. I couldn't remove it in the end so I gave it to Fujieda. Kyo: You did? You got it? Fujieda: Yeah, I passed it to the person who designed the costume. Kyo: I see... Shinya: And the floor was very cold. Kyo: You say that?!?!?! Fujieda: Were you okay, Kyo? Kyo: Yeah... I'm a pro in the end. Fujieda: Oh (claps) Kyo: Are you mocking me? Looking down on me? Fujieda: No! Not at all! I clapped because I think that's great! Kyo: No, you're defnitely looking down on me. It's the same as the 'whats your salary like?' 'this much' 'oh'.

tbc

#dir en grey #kyo #京 #shinya #爆音会 #talk event #namba hatch #translation

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minaramen · 2 years

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New Year’s special story - Werewolf Idols ~ LIVE or HEAVEN ~ Part 7: Nighttime War Council [Day 2]

Iori/wolf: Aah…Momo san…

Tenn/wolf: He’s very competent, that’s for sure…

Ioriwolf: He did his job to death…

Tamaki/wolf: But Yukirin was no wolf, right?

Iori/wolf: He obviously wasn’t. Momo san did what he did for your sake, Yotsuba san

Tamaki/wolf: What?! For me?!

Tenn/wolf: He said that Yuki san was a wolf on purpose, so you wouldn't be executed. Momo san is probably the madman

Tenn/wolf: Tomorrow, Momo san will basically execute himself. So, your execution will be delayed to the day after tomorrow

Tamaki/wolf: Momorin did that much, for me….?!

Iori/wolf: It’s a miracle you're still alive despite revealing yourself as a wolf on the very first day. Of course,credit goes to Momo san

Iori/wolf: Direct your thanks towards him

Tamaki/wolf: Oh, where…?! Momorin, thank youuu!

Iori/wolf: Thank you very much

Tenn/wolf: Thank you, Momo san. You got to the point where you sacrificed Yuki san…

Tamaki/wolf: Yukirin must be angry. So, apparently, I won’t go to the afterlife tomorrow…

Iori/wolf: What’s your problem with that?

Tamaki/wolf: It’s just… I want to apologize to Sou chan soon…

Tenn/wolf: Yotsuba san, there’s no big difference in doing that after two days or three

Tenn/wolf: The amount of rage he feels toward you won’t change at all

Tamaki/wolf: Ah, I suppose so… Well then, I’ll live the life I got from Re:vale to the fullest!

Iori/wolf: That’s the spirit. So, who are we going to bite tonight?

Tenn/wolf: Midou san, maybe…? He’s even keeping track of the executions. Surely, he will notice when the number starts to decrease

Iori/wolf: Yes, that’s what I was thinking. If he gets used to the game, he may become a danger to us

Tamaki/wolf: But Toracchi looks like someone you want to trust! He gave the good guy impression, today

Iori/wolf: Everybody who is trusted by the villagers is an enemy to us

Tamaki/wolf: Ah, you’re right

Tenn/wolf: Nikaido san is probably the real divinator. When he tried to defend Yuki san today, he acted like he was protecting a villager

Iori/wolf: Yes. Nikaido san is honest after all

Tenn/wolf: Also, he immediately gave up. This is so like the real thing who doesn’t want to be suspected

Iori/wolf: I’m not sure. Nikaido san is somebody who gives up easily

Iori/wolf: He’s particularly standing up to Momo san, Kujo san and Natsume san

Iori/wolf: Unfortunately for him, his weakest point is his lack of self confidence

Tamaki/wolf: If he said “follow me!” I’d just go with him, rather than with us

Tenn/wolf: I’m sure Nikaido san wouldn’t expect to receive such comments from the other members, just by becoming the divinator in a Werewolf game

Tenn/wolf: Anyway, do you agree with me when I say that Natsume san is the fox?

Tamaki/wolf: He’s sooo foxy

Iori/wolf: Oinari san* would love him

Tenn/wolf: If Nikaido san forecasts Natume san, he will take him out of our way

Tamaki/wolf: What bout the medium? Rikkun looks like the medium here. Wouldn’t it be better if we bite him?

Tamaki/wolf: If the medium dies, then Yukirin’s true identity won’t be revealed at all

Iori/wolf: I’d say it’s more beneficial to expose the lie and get Momo san executed

Tenn/wolf: If we do otherwise you’ll be the one that gets executed, Yotsuba san

Tamaki/wolf: Got it. It’s kinda Momorin's strategy. Thank you, Momorin…

Iori/wolf: In addiction, if Nanase san dies without doing his job as medium, he will surely complain a lot

Tenn/wolf: Yes, I understand what you’re talking about…

Iori/wolf: Something like: “Waah, why did you bite me, Iori?! You’re terrible!”

Tamaki/wolf: Uh? What’s that? Some kind of private manner of yours that has nothing to do with the game?

Iori/wolf: Exactly

Tamaki/wolf: Won’t my situation with Sou chan become awkward, if we act like this?

Iori/wolf: It won’t. Osaka san is reasonable after all

Tenn/wolf: Osaka san will understand

Tamaki/wolf: Really?! Well… If he’s still angry, will you come with me to apologize…?

Iori/wolf: I don’t want to. He’s too scary

Tamaki: Iorin!?

Tenn/wolf: Okay, we’ll bite Midou san. When my turn to forecast comes, I’ll say that Nanase san is a villager

Iori/wolf: Understood

Tamaki/wolf: Got it

*Cut to a dark place*

Yuki: Well, it’s warmer than I thought…

*Cut to the TV studio*

Audience: Kyaaaah…!

Nagi: Welcome, mister Yuki!

Sogo: Welcome. Good job!

Yuki: Ah, that’s how it looks like then

Yuki: There is food as well. And it looks delicious

Audience: Kyaaaah..!

Audience: Yukiiiii!

Audience: Look here!!

Yuki: Where?

Audience: Kyaaaaaaah…!!

Yuki: You see my mole? I’ll put my hair up, so you can look at it

Audience: Kyaaaaah!

Nagi: Too bad, mister Yuki! Mister Momo played a good game!

Yuki: Did you see it? Yeah, I suppose he did. Momo is too good of a liar, I guess

Sogo: He’s extremely good

Yuki: Aaah… he didn’t have such bad habits a long time ago. The entertainment world is a scary place. All because of foxy-faced men

Audience: Are you talking about Natsume kun?

Yuki: Minami…?

Nagi: Natsume-shi is the fox spirit!

Yuki: I didn’t notice at all

Audience: Yuki, do your best…!

Yuki: I’ve already been executed, so there’s no point in doing my best anymore

Audience: Ahahah!

Sogo: Ah, would you like a drink ! Maybe some wine? There is also Japanese sake…

Yuki: Why not. It’s the New Year’s, so I’ll go for some sake

Sogo: Okay, let me serve you then! Here you go!

Yuki: How kind of you, Sogo kun. Will you team up with me?

Audience: Kyaaaaah…!

Yuki: Nagi kun, you too

Nagi: What’s our unit’s name?

Yuki: What do you suggest, Sogo kun?

Sogo: Let’s see…

Sogo: January the first

Audience: Ahahah

Sogo: Ah…I ended up making everybody laugh

Nagi: Oh! January the first! So we’ll immediately remember the day our unit was born! Nice!

Yuki: Just to make it easier, let’s just call it “New Year’s day”. Well, okay. What about the musical instruments? If I remember correctly, Nagi kun can play the keyboard

Sogo: Ah, so we’re more like a band. Oh… what to choose… my hands are sweating like crazy…

Yuki: Really?

Sogo: Eek…

Audience: Kyaaaaah…!

Yuki: Oh, so you’re serious about it. What’s “eek”? So funny

Sogo: Nagi kun, Nagi kun

Nagi: What?

Sogo: I think I did sober up

Nagi: Thank you for the information, Sogo

Audience: Ahahah

Nagi: I’ll play the keyboard, then. What about you, Sogo?

Sogo: I’m paralyzed with fear, because Yuki san’s here…

Yuki: It’s okay, I’ll play the bass. The guy who plays the bass in a band always gives erotic vibes, after all

Audience: Kyaaaah…!

Sogo: Yuki san as the sexy bassist would be so handsome!

Audience: Kyaaaaah…!

Sogo: I…I think I’ll play the guitar… ah… my heart’s pounding…

Yuki: Wah, Sogo kun, I can measure your pulse by your wrist

Yuki: Ba-pump ba-pump, ba-ba-pump…

Sogo: I think I’m having arrhythmia…

Audience: Kyaaaah…!

Yuki: That’s good

Sogo: I feel like I could play drums with my wrists. The rhythm team seems promising

Nagi: I wonder if the sake is speaking for you

Audience: Ahahah

Nagi: Before choosing our vocalist, let’s look at how the others are doing!

*Cut to the game*

Yamato/divinator: Ah…

Yamato/divinator: I should have given up on Yuki san…or I should have been successful in saving him, at least

Yamato/divinator: Leaving things halfway may look suspicious…

Yamato/divinator: Also, Momo san is kinda scary. Selling out his own partner? Normally…

Yamato/divinator: No, this is something that Re:vale can do. They’ll end up laughing about it

Yamato/divinator: Amazing, senpai…

Yamato/divinator: Okay now, I’ll find a wolf! Or, at least, I won’t forecast the guy who’ll get bitten

Yamato/divinator: If I get to forecast a living villager, he definitely won’t be killed

Yamato/divinator: I could definitely protect him

Yamato/divinator: Well, I think I’ll forecast Midou. He looks like a villager, that’s for sure, but if he’s a wolf he’d be a very scary one. Didn’t I say the same thing yesterday?

Yamato/divinator: Okay, Midou then. I don’t think he’ll be bitten

Yamato/divinator: If they go as far and bite Midou, I’ll marry a wolf. We’d be a perfect match

Yamato/divinator: Okay then! Midou!

*Shade in and out*

Torao/villager: 1, 2, 3….okay, just in time

Torao/villager: If we want to execute all the divinators, we need to start right after Yotsuba’s execution

Torao/villager: If the hunter does his job properly, we’ll have one more day for the executions

Torao/villager: However, since there are four divinators the hunter will be in trouble choosing how to escort. I wonder what would happen if the medium came out…things would probably be way different

Torao/villager: I see. I understand who the wolves are. That’s interesting

Torao/villager: Among those who came out as divinators there is the real thing, the madman, one wolf and the fox

Torao/villager: I hope Momo is the real divinator; otherwise he can be either a wolf or the madman

Torao/villager: Even if he dies, he can rely on his buddies. That’s why he could go that far with his reckless behavior

Torao/villager: The fox is all alone. If he dies, he’s screwed. He won’t do anything irrational, unless he has his back to the wall

Torao/villager: If Yuki san was a wolf, then Nikaido would be pretty suspicious. On the other hand, if Yuki san was a villager, it would mean that Nikaido is the real thing

Torao/villager: Assuming that he’s a wolf, he wouldn’t want his buddies to decrease. Meanwhile, assuming he’s the divinator, he would have the same feeling toward the villagers

Torao/villager: I wonder which one is the reason why Nikaido protected Yuki san yesterday

Torao/villager: Speaking of Minami…

Torao/villager: …he’s probably the fox. He’s been unusually gentle, like he was holding his breath

Torao/villager: Ahah, how scary. Just like a snake poised to swallow a frog

Torao/villager: It would be better to execute Minami, but I don’t want to be the one suggesting that…

Torao/villager: Without any doubt, he will forecast me as a wolf. It’s just, that sounds like something he would say

Torao/villager: Anyway, let’s go back to Yuki san’s situation. If he was a villager after all, I suppose I’ll help out Nikaido

Torao/villager: The only remaining divinator must be Nikaido

*Shade in and out*

Momo/madman: Fu…

Momo/madman: God, I did my duty. I feel relieved, now

Momo/mandman: Yuki, I’m about to reach you!

Momo/madman: Don’t flirt with young girls in the afterlife!

Momo/madman: If I can, I’ll be the one executed tomorrow instead of Tamaki

Momo/madman: I need to attract more attention than Tamaki, and give everybody the impression that something bad would happen if they don’t execute me

Momo/madman: Darlings, do your best! Bite one of those delicious villagers! And pay attention not to be knocked down by the hunter!

Momo/madman: Fight!

*Shade in and out*

Minami/fox: I’m still living

Minami/fox: Kon-kon

Minami/fox: Ah…I wonder who’s the real divinator…

Minami/fox: The only man with the power to kill me… I want him to be bitten, or executed. And I want that to happen soon

Minami/fox: Dear wolves. Please, eat the real divinator with a big bite. Sincerely yours, Fox Spirit

Minami/fox: I wonder if the real thing is Nikaido san. It didn’t seem like he was acting. The same goes for Yuki san…

Minami/fox: Tomorrow I’ll say that Izumi Iori, or Midou san, is a villager. Both of them have a firm way of speaking

Minami/fox: Who shall I choose…?

Minami/fox: Very well, I made my decision. I choose Izumi Iori

Minami/fox: Take care, Izumi san

*Shade in and out*

Mitsuki/villager: Looking at his huge confidence, I’d say that Momo san is the real divinator…

Mitsuki/villager: Were we supposed to understand if he was lying or not today?

Mitsuki/villager: If he was lying, he’ll get executed

Mitsuki/villager: But how the hell could he have been lying all along, with such confidence?

Mitsuki/villager: Uhm…. At the same time, the old man seems like the real thing. I wonder if it’s due to his prodigious acting skills…

Mitsuki/villager: Since we’re teammates, I’d like to say that I’m able to understand when he lies, or hides secrets…

Mitsuki/villager: But I have no chance with Yamato san

Mitsuki/villager:...I get it right sometimes, but….yeah…

Mitsuki/villager: If I suspected him after he made such an anxious expression, I would have to second guess every time he told the truth so far

Mitsuki/villager: Ah, it’s difficult… Also, it’s kinda weird. Ah, speaking of weirdness…

Mitsuki/villager: Iori

Mitsuki/villager: Isn’t he acting strange? Or maybe it’s just me

Mitsuki/villager: I would expect him to be more positive, since we’re playing such a brainy game

Mitsuki/villager: Maybe he’s just acting modest because of all the people here?

Mitsuki/villager: I’ll get a better look at the situation tomorrow

*Shade in and out*

Gaku/hunter:.....

Gaku/hunter: Is Momo the real divinator?

Gaku/hunter: The wolves killed Rokuya, who was not a divinator

Gaku/hunter: Are they going to do the same, tonight? I mean, attacking somebody who’s not a divinator. Who should I protect?

Gaku/hunter:......

Gaku/hunter: The wolves’ first target was Rokuya. Next…

Gaku/hunter: No. If Tenn gets killed tonight, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life

Gaku/hunter: I’m going to protect Tenn. It was my original purpose, after all

Gaku/hunter: Get ready, wolves!

End of part 7

TL Notes

*Oinari - Traditional japanese fox spirit

#ainana #idolish7translation #idolish7 #zool #re:vale #trigger

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17wishbones · 3 years

Photo

Thank you all who have liked, reblogged, and commented on this Demon Slayer Quickie. Rengoku is just a breath of fresh air kind of character (as are the rest) but his time on screen still hurts. I’ll stop crying about and instead keep posting chapters. I hope to do so nightly or every other day. Let’s love him together! So here is more Rengoku goodness. - - - - - - - CHAPTER III: UNNECESSARY APPROVAL

You sat next to Kyōjurō with your head drawn down. His father had a despicable aura pouring out from him and it made you bite your bottom lip from drawing into a frown. ‘Respect his father. Respect his father. Respect his father.’ You repeated in your head as a mantra.

“Father, _____ and I are engaged and to be wed at the end of this year!”

Rengoku Shinjurō scoffed while not even looking your or his son’s way. “Someone useless like you marrying someone worthless like her? Hmph! How sad.”

Your nails painfully dug through the hakama pants, daring to break skin. He really pissed you off. Rengoku answered him nonetheless. “Do not insult my soon-to-be-wife,” he spoke with a stern tone, taking his stance, “As she will be part of our family.”

Shinjurō shrugged his shoulders. “Do what you want. You’ll die against the demons anyways. What use will you be then? Go ahead and get yourselves killed.”

You bit your bottom lip hard this time, keeping your words to yourself in order to respect Kyōjurō but it hurt to see the pain in his eyes and it hurt you to the core. Here he was with a father and younger brother and the drinker acted like neither of them existed. Your existence be damned, but. . . you didn’t move a muscle until Rengoku moved.

Once removed from his presence, you were ready to burst into tears of anger. How could he, a former Hashira, talk down upon one of the best things in your life!?

“Don’t cry, My Sunflower!” He embraced you close. “I won’t let even his words dim my flames!”

“You’re too good for this world,” you murmured, “And I hate seeing you like that. It hurts to see a living parent not want to be with their kids.” You sniffled. “I wouldn’t put my children through that.”

“You mean, “our'' children, right?” He gently smooched your forehead.

“Our children,” you repeated, “How many did you want again?”

“Ten is a good even number!”

“Eh!? Ten!? How about you reconsider with three or four kids?”

“At a time? That sounds perfect!”

“That’s not how it works, Kyōjurō! And how will I work with so many kids?”

“You won’t have to worry as I will become a hard-working husband and father, to make sure my wife and children are well taken care of!”

“And I’ll get to be a big uncle!” Senjuro exclaimed as he came out of a nearby room, waiting on you both. “And how did Father take the news?”

You sharply turned your head. “Just as when I told him we both became Hashira - not great. Regardless! We are to wed before the end of this year, so our plans have not changed!”

Senjuro ran up and hugged you . “I can’t wait to have my big sister!”

“And I can’t wait to have you as my little brother, Senjuro.” When you looked into their vibrant eyes and loving smiles, you couldn’t ever imagine leaving them for anything. Not even he could make you run away. “I love you and your big brother so much. No matter what, I’ll never leave.”

Rengoku’s chest swelled with pride. “I am the luckiest man to have you as my wife! That’s why I will never stop fighting for you!”

“And so will I!” Your enthusiasm made him bloom with desire. The time of the meeting was, unfortunately, so close, but if fate was on his side, they’ll be on a mission together this time.

“RENGOKU AND _____, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE PILLAR MEETING!”

“Oh,” you gazed at the crow above, “It’s already time to go. We will be seeing you again soon, Senjuro.” You leaned down and gave him smooches on each side of his cheek. “You take care, okay?”

“I will!”

“What about me, Sunflower?” Rengoku asked. “I want three for good luck!”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “Alright, alright. Come here.” One kiss, two kiss, three kiss, four…

“MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE PILLAR MEETING NOW!”

If it weren’t for the crow, you would still be at the Rengoku Estate, letting him pollinate your flower. “On the way!” You shouted. “Shall we?”

Happy, Rengoku held your hand and began leading the way. “Be good, Senjuro!”

You felt so lucky that both brothers treated you as an equal, as someone who was loveable and desirable. For them, all of what you did was worth it.

‘Fingers crossed that we get paired together. Just have to get through this meeting-’

The sudden push of swarming auras met you at the corner, where the other Hashira gathered. You knew that feeling well. Some still rejected you, even though it was clear and evident that you had the strength and the drive to be a Flame Hashira. It frightened you at times, their inward feelings. You had wished to not be cursed with this kind of ability, however. . .

“Good morning, everyone!” Rengoku made the aura dissipate with every footstep, lighting an open path into the closed circle. Every step filled with purpose. Every word full of confidence. He refused to let your hand go as you both approached them. Shock still riddled them from his rooftop outburst last time. He truly meant every word, and he wanted them all to know that this was real, and it was happening.

Words and expressions were chosen over an exchange of Nichirin blades as fighting another as a Hashira went against the code. Ubuyashiki’s word was law, but if Rengoku had the opportunity if he were not loyal to the code, he’d challenge those opposing to a 1v1, square up or shut up, match.

“My children, good morning.”

You both released hands and knelt before Ubuyashiki’s arrival. “You have gathered as much information as you could, but even still, Muzan remains out of reach, and there have been more cases of demons arising. So, I will group you today.”

His words softened as the confines of your mind filled with indifference of your trip down in Asakusa. You considered another daring trip to see if you can find just anything that’d bring everyone closer to locating his whereabouts. Maybe even where a couple of the 12 Kizuki reside.

“Rengoku and _____, you’ll be heading back to Osaka. I heard you got very close to finding him, _____.”

“Yes, or so I’d like to think. A horde of demons erased his trail, and so I couldn’t follow it thereafter. I believe they sent them to put me off of his trail, and to have me dead.”

“That is why Rengoku will be your partner.”

“Thank you, Master! This arrangement is most suitable!” Rengoku couldn’t help smiling. For once, fate really was on his side!

Even though Ubuyashiki couldn’t see, he knew that the two of you connected. As two Flame Hashira, you both were going to be a force to be reckoned with. “Good. This concludes our meeting. Make haste to your next assignment.” - - - - - - - - - Chapter: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII (Part 1) / (Part 2) / (Part 3)

#rengoku kyojuro x reader #rengoku x you #demon slayer #demon slayer fanfic #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba fanfic #romance #anime

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thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness · 3 years

Text

TOSHIYA AT JOE YOKOMIZO CHANNEL 4th FEB TRANSLATION/NOTES 1/4

Joe Yokomizo Channel

Guest: Toshiya (Dir en grey)

Notes before reading: This is the translation/notes of the first part of the livestream on Joe’s Niconico channel with Toshiya as a guest last 4th February. The livestream was one hour and fifty min approx. and this part covers the first 45 min approx. before getting into the premium corner. You can watch this at Joe Yokomizo’s channel on Niconico. Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing parts. Links or credits to this post when the content is reposted or captured in other SNS are appreciated :) ------- Joe: Thank you for waiting. I’m Joe, the host of this Niconico livestream of the program Music&Talk by Joe Yokomizo’s channel, thank you for watching….Today, well, I was told that there are many people watching us right now, oh, you all have already started to write comments….thank you….

Joe explains how the program is going to be divided, the first part will be available for everyone but the premium part will be only available for the members of his channel.

Joe: In the middle of the program, we will get into the premium part. In that part, I’m going to comfortably drink with the guest person here while we have a deep talk. It would be great if you could watch the whole program! Then, without making you wait any longer, I’m going to introduce tonight’s guest…..Would you like to introduce yourself?....tonight’s guest is….this person!....please…

Toshiya: I’m Dir en grey’s bassist, Toshiya… thank you for having me….

Joe: Thank you! *claps* You finally came, Toshiya!

Toshiya: I did!

Joe: You came, thank you!

Toshiya: Yes

Joe: Before starting the program, you told me that you hated appearing in the media…

Toshiya: Yes, I hate it…

Joe: *laughs* Do you hate it?

Toshiya: Yes.

Joe: Do you hate talking (in public)?

Toshiya: Yes

Joe: You hate it….as today there are many people watching, I think that we should go hard at the members section (premium part) …..please, let’s do it…..

Toshiya: Please…

Joe: First of all, about the state of emergency…..*cuts* Oh, comments are already coming……”Toshiya is so cool”….thank you for writing comments…..ah, yes yes….If you have any questions, please write them down because at the premium part the staff is going to hand some to me and we are going to have a question corner…please write many comments!.....so….about the emergency state we are in since last 7th January…..what you have being doing?

Toshiya: Recently…..what was it?....we finished recording “Oboro”…..

Joe: Oh, did you finish the recording?

Toshiya: Yes

Joe: I see…. after that, it’s time for the mixing….

Toshiya: Yes

Joe: Then…for example…. today…. what did you do today?

Toshiya: Today…...mmmm…..well, it’s related….started the pre-production of another (song)….

Joe: I see, you are already into the next pre-production (stage)….

Toshiya: Yes, it’s one from the album….

Joe: Is that so? I’m sure we are going to be happy with the information coming from Dir en grey from now on….

Toshiya: That’s it.

Joe: By the way, this is not really an important question but, what time do you usually get up in the morning?

Toshiya: What time would it be?....mmm…usually it’s random…

Joe: *laughs* Random…..you don’t have a pattern like, “I’m going to be up at this time”….

Toshiya: I’d say so…that’s it but….I usually wake up at 4-5 in the morning….

Joe: Eh….then you go to sleep early, right?

Toshiya: Yes, I try to go to bed early… Joe: That’s good for your body…… Toshiya: *Nods* Joe: Like at 10-11 pm, for example? Toshiya: More or less, I'm about to sleep at that time…. Joe: Oh, I see…..”Are you sleeping properly?” , they are asking that (at the comments), are you? Toshiya: I don’t know….I think I do….*laughs* Joe: I… As I’m old, even if I fall sleep, I wake up easily….like 2-3 times during the night I have to go to pee….it’s really annoying…. Toshiya: Ahh… Joe: You still don’t know about that, right? *laughs* Toshiya: That’s right….*Joe laughs* Sometimes I wake up….once or twice…. Joe: You do wake up once or twice…. Toshiya: Then, I’m like…should I sleep again? Or so…it’s like….”what should I do?”…. Joe: I see….*pointing at the comments* it seems that happens to a proportion of the people watching us…..so, now with the corona….how is it called?.....are you doing weight lifting for your upper body? Toshiya: No, I can’t go… Joe: You can’t? Then, are you losing muscle? Toshiya: I think so… Joe: Is that so? Usually, do you do it at home? Toshiya: Usually I go to the gym, but since Corona, I don’t feel like going…. Joe: Certainly…. certainly… Toshiya: Doing it by myself it’s ok but, sometimes I think “I don’t feel like doing it” and I end up not doing it….. Joe: I see. Are you losing chest muscle mass? Toshiya: That’s right, I will do my best ( to get it back)…. I will do my best… Joe: But, it’s amazing your (makes a gesture of wide shoulders)….ah, they are asking if you work out at home… Toshiya: Sometimes I do. Joe: The first time I went to a Dir en grey live and I got into the dressing room, where was it? Was it in Osaka? I think it was Nagoya… Toshiya: Yes Joe remembers that at that performance, before the show, he saw some work out equipment and he thought that those were Toshiya’s. Toshiya replies that it was probably another member’s stuff. Joe: is that so? I totally thought it was yours… Toshiya: Among the members, I’m the first one getting into he dressing room, while I’m getting ready there (changing clothes), I start to work out a bit… Joe: Muscle training? *Toshiya nods* How did you get into muscle training? Toshiya: Well, it’s was mostly because I have a hernia in my neck and lower back/waist. Joe: Ohh, is that so? Toshiya: It’s because of that. At that time….my height is 180-181 cm ….and at that time, about 20 years ago, my weight was about 58 kg…. Joe: Very skinny…*laughs* Toshiya: I was really skinny…. Joe: Being 180 cm tall and that weight….you were really skinny… Toshiya: I felt like trying to gain weight and get over 60…I was really skinny….I couldn’t eat…. Joe: You didn’t have money *laughs*… Toshiya: Yes, I couldn’t eat *laughs* Joe: As you didn’t have money, you couldn’t….*laughs* Toshiya: Then, at that time, at lives we would perform in a rough/violent way…it was like that, so as expected that wasn’t good for me… Joe: That’s right… Toshiya: Yes, then….my neck and my back snapped…. Joe: Ehhhhhhhh that sounds painful…. Toshiya: *Laughs* Joe: They snapped? Toshiya: They did… Joe: That sound is really unpleasant…. Toshiya: It’s just…. something I can’t forget…that was at Meguro Rockmaykan…. Joe: Oh, that happened there? Toshiya: Yes yes. We played at Yokohama Arena and I think it was the next day? there was a secret live at Rockmaykan. At the end of it, after shaking my head, my back cracked….*Joe squeals*I couldn’t move, I was like *makes the gesture of holding the bass* my neck and so….I could move my body just this way *moves a little bit*…like paralyzed… Joe: Ahhh, isn’t that hell? Toshiya: Yes, as I couldn’t move… I was just moving my hand *makes the gesture of playing bass, Joe laughs* Then, Rockmaykan’s dressing room is really narrow/small *Joe says he has been there* so I went up the stairs as I could, doing my best….at the dressing there is a long couch, I lied down there…fans were asking for an encore… Joe: As usual… Toshiya: While we were doing it, they called al ambulance for me and they told the fans to not go out and closed the doors while they were taking me in…. Joe: Ouhhh that happened at Rockmaykan?? Toshiya: Yes. I’m scared of Rockmaykan…. Joe: By the way, what’s your current weight? You said you were 58kg at the time of this back incident… Toshiya: I’m around….67kg….yes, 67kg… Joe: How many kilos do you lift? Toshiya: Nothing really heavy…. … Joe: So, I think that everyone wants to hear many things about you today, and they wrote many questions that we are going to discuss in the premium part. Now, Joe wants Toshiya to write a kanji that describes how he is as a person. He hands Toshiya a sheet and a pen and ask viewers to write in the comments what kanji do they think that represents Toshiya. Joe is reading what people is writing at the comments and Toshiya seems to struggle and laughs softly. Toshiya: So poorly (done)…. It seems that he messed up writing the kanji and uses a new sheet of paper. Joe: Are you ok? Are you ok?....he is rewriting it… Toshiya: I’m sorry… Joe laughs seeing Toshiya still struggling with the pen and says we are going to see the kanji that Toshiya wrote. Toshiya shows the kanji to the camera: 怠け (Lazy) Joe: Lazy…..are you a lazy person? Toshiya: I am a lazy person…. Joe: You don’t look like that at all! Toshiya: I’m lazy. Joe: What are you lazy about? Toshiya: Everything….*They both laugh* Everything…. Joe: Everything? Like, if you have to prepare a meal, you don’t do it…things like that Toshiya: No,no…I do that…. Joe: You do? Then, when are you lazy? Toshiya: Well, I’m just lazy…. Joe: But lazy people usually have a chubby belly and so…. that’s my image of a lazy person… Toshiya: I wouldn’t say so… Joe: I wonder what your lazy side is… Toshiya: What would it be…. Joe: It’s more like, you are a laid-back person? Toshiya: Mmmm, I’m a bit like that too… Joe: Doing muscle training you don’t look like a lazy person at all… Toshiya: Is that so? Then, let’s just keep that image… Joe: *laughs* It’s a way to keep up appearances…but truth is that you are lazy…. Toshiya: I think that I’m lazy…. Joe says that as they are going to drink at the premium part, he is going to rip apart that image and find out about Toshiya’s laziness. Toshiya: That’s it Joe: Please watch it…. well, you talked about that incident that happened to your back at Rockmaykan but soon, the film screenings of a Dir en grey live at Meguro Rockmaykan is going to start. Would it be ok to take a survey and ask the viewers? I’m going to ask the staff to make a survey? Joe proceeds to read the dates of the film screening, starting in Kanagawa prefecture on the 16th and ending at Nanba hatch in Osaka on 7th April. Joe: What do you think about these screening? How many are you going to attend? we are going to ask that in the survey. *asking the staff* Is it already on screen? Oh, there it is… The survey appears on the screen. There are five options. Joe asks Toshiya if this is the second time, they do this (film screenings) and how does he feel about fans attending to them. Toshiya says it makes him happy that fans come. Joe: Let’s see the results of the survey…*reads the results* 1. I am going to all of them 1% 2. I am going to multiple screenings 54.1% 3. I’m going to one 19.4% 4. I’m going to buy a ticket after this 6.1% 5. I’m not going 19.4% Joe: Due to Corona, it’s hard for some people to attend this. About the screening, Joe says that they played at Meguro Rockmaykan and recorded the live, which is going to be the content of the screening. He asks Toshiya about how he felt about the performance and Toshiya replies that he couldn’t move at all, which surprises Joe. Toshiya says that it was because they are not playing lives recently, the venue is tiny but also because his body remembers what happened years ago, so he doesn’t have a fond memory of the venue even though he is thankful that people are looking forward to it and watch the footage. Toshiya: In my head, I see what I want to do, this or that, but it’s like I can’t reach the place that I imagine. There is nothing after that. Joe: I see, you can imagine it in your head but at lives, but at lives, to put the icing on the cake…. Toshiya says that at a live, there is an exchange of energy with the audience as well as among the members, and as there is no audience, that it’s not happening. Joe: It’s feels like you are just gathering and rehearsing with the members, instead of feeling like a concert….*Toshiya nods* Toshiya: This (situation) is really deadly awful…. Joe: Is that so?....they are saying that they feel the same at the comments but, until now, you have done the things that you could do in this situation… Toshiya: That’s true but, all the things we are doing now, it’s like there is no a next step….how could I say it?...it feels like there is nothing ahead… Joe: I see. Of course, if you have an audience, there is a reaction from them… Toshiya: If there is an audience….how could I say it?....it’s an stimulus…it’s feels like….”let’s do this”….when it’s a live without audience…..somehow….it’s like my own fight….I’m just fighting by myself….so what’s the point of it? Joe: I see. Joe says that when they play in front of a audience, they get a reaction back so they know what’s the next step, Toshiya agrees and adds that in that aspect, the fans going to the live screening and being able to see their reaction, makes him feel better about it. Joe says that they can play lives in real time, so fans can only watch a recorded live in a screen, but, on the contrary, they (the band) can see their reaction and think about what’s coming next. Toshiya: In that sense, I think it’s ok… Joe: This is the third time you do something like this right? The first time was last March when you did the live stream, and the second and the third time is in this way, a film screening…. They discuss about the difference between doing it as a live stream instead of a film screening. Toshiya: The feeling of the livestream was really interesting…it’s a bit different than playing live but when it’s something recorded…. Joe: I understand. It’s the same for me at the radio. When I’m broadcasting live the feeling is totally different. Toshiya: I don’t know why….but it feels different….*laughs* In the end, Toshiya says that both options are different and he doesn’t know which one is more interesting but he wants to play live sometimes. They discuss that, a recorded live feels like listening to an album. Joe: You usually make an album and then play it live…but in these circumstances you can’t…. Then, the dates for the screening appear on screen and Joe reads them. Joe: “Toshiya are you coming to Sapporo?”, they are asking that….*Toshiya laughs* Answer them… Toshiya: *cross arms* Huuuummm….. Joe: Huummmm huuummmm…. I don’t understand what do you mean…. .”Come to Shinkiba!”….are you going? Toshiya: *cross arms* Huuuummm…..*Joe and Toshiya laugh* Joe: “Please come!”…. Nanba hatch….”Come to Nanba hatch!” are you going? Toshiya: *cross arms* Huuuummm…..*They laugh again” Joe: Birthday….ohhhh….is it your birthday? Toshiya: On 31st March…. the day of Sapporo screening… Joe: Oh, Sapporo’s date…. This…. You can’t answer that….you can’t answer…. Toshiya: That’s right…somehow, its like…I can’t say it *pouts*… The way that Toshiya said it, makes Joe laughs hard. Joe: So your birthday is on 31st March… Toshiya: That’s right… Joe: At the end of the month…. Toshiya: Right… Toshiya says that when he was little, as his birthday was usually during the spring break, he barely got any memories of celebrating it. When he got older and started playing in a band, he gets many birthday wishes/greetings and he is thankful for that. Joe says that he must feel really happy receiving many birthday wishes from many people. Toshiya nods. They both laugh about being happy when they receive birthday wishes but getting older doesn’t make them so happy lol. Toshiya: But at this age, birthdays gradually get.... Joe: True. As I’m in my 50s, it feels like a countdown to death....

Toshiya: Yes, it’s like, I’m happy but.... Joe: So your birthday is going to be on a screening day…. Toshiya: Yes. When there is a live (on my birthday), it raises my mood…. Joe: That’s it. But you don’t know if you are going or not to the Sapporo screening… After encouraging people to go to the film screening, Joe says we are going to watch a music video. Joe: We are going to watch a Dir en grey video….the title of the video….oh we didn’t tell Toshiya which video is….*Toshiya laughs* It’s the latest single music video the one we are going to watch… Toshiya: Is that so? Please, go ahead (to Joe) Joe: Please introduce it…. Toshiya: No,no….please go ahead…. Joe: Well, this is the video, everyone please watch it… (Ochita koto no aru Sora Promotional video plays) Joe: Well, there are comments saying that in the end we didn’t introduce the song….so please Toshiya, say the name of the song….please…. Toshiya: *laughs* This was Dir en grey “Ochita koto no aru Sora” Joe: They were saying in the comments that we didn’t say the name of the song…. Toshiya: Ahhh….I thought that you were going to say it…. Joe: I’m sorry….there are a lot of comments asking you to take off your sunglasses…you are going to do that at the premium corner, right? We are going to be drinking and you will take your sunglasses off…. Please watch it… Joe explains that soon the premium part is going to start and they are going to talk about many things such as which music he has being listening to recently, and also they will be showing a private picture that Toshiya took. So, if we want to watch it, we have to subscribe to the channel. Joe: The number of comments have increased some time ago but the truth is that today what I’m wearing *points at his sweatshirt* it’s from toshiya’s brand…. Toshiya: It’s a bribe… Joe: A bribe….you got me a bribe…. Toshiya: *laughs* I’m sorry… Joe shows a Dirt shirt to the audience and starts touching it. Joe: The fabric feels really good! Toshiya: It’s a fabric that feels really good…. Joe: Do you choose everything,from the fabric? Toshiya: I do, I do… Joe: For those who don’t know about the brand yet…..what’s the concept behind it? Toshiya: There is no particular concept but, I think it’s good to create things that you can wear everyday… Joe: I see. I’m wearing now a high-neck long sleeve shirt with the logo in the neckline….*stands up to show the back of the shirt* At the back it has…..this is not just a print right? Toshiya: It’s a foam print… Joe says he is happy wearing it and that it looks really stylish. Joe: Why did you start this brand? Toshiya: As a pastime/hobbie…. Joe: A hobbie… is that so?.... because you like clothes…did you create that saten shirt are wearing right now? Toshiya: *pointing at his shirt* This is a sample… Joe: You didn’t buy it….”a sample?” “it’s a new item?” “I want it”….they are saying that at the comments…. Joe says they are going to put a link on screen so we can click it and go to Dirt’s homepage. They start talking about the production and creation of the items. Joe thinks that choosing fabrics must be hard. Toshiya: It’s hard….cause fabric samples are so small, right? Joe: You cant imagine the whole thing… Toshiya: Besides that, when it becomes a clothes item, the image can be very different…. Joe: You didn’t imagine that it would be that hard… Toshiya: That’s right… Joe: *laughs* isn’t it? Toshiya: It’s too hard…we are five people in the band right? So I don’t have to do everything by myself…as I’m a very lazy person… Joe: *laughs* as you are lazy…. Toshiya: As I have to think everything myself and do it…..it’s very hard… Joe: Do you regret it? Toshiya: Regret…..*laughs* *whispering* A bit… Joe: *Laughs* You regret it a bit… someone said in the comments “lazy person activation”….he regrets it a bit but he really likes it…please everyone go and check the homepage clicking in the link….”please make smaller sizes”…someone said that in a comment… Toshiya: That’s right… this time the sizes were varied but they were still big…. Joe: Still big….I wonder why….how is that? They started discussing the production and how doing several sizes is hard, cause it affects retail price and stuff. Joe: People who want a smaller size, do the same that Toshiya did and get a bigger body frame…*Toshiya laughs* He went from 58 kg to 67kg…. Toshiya: If you eat more, you will gain weight… Joe: If you eat more….they are comments saying that they like that the brand is unisex…. Toshiya: Ah, thank you so much…. Joe asks Toshiya if he is going to release something for spring season and he replies that around March he thinks they will release the new items, that they are currently working on them. Joe: Now we are going to watch some footage and after than, we are going to talk while having a drink. Toshiya: Yes Joe: The two of us drinking…..it can be something dangerous… Toshiya: I think so Joe remembers Dir en grey’s livestream, last year, in which Toshiya drank. Toshiya says he thought that if he didn’t talk much it wouldn’t be interesting. Joe: Thank you for that. Toshiya: I thought that if everyone had fun, then it’s ok… Joe: I see Toshiya: Like, “let’s get a bit crazy” and so… Joe: That’s it….from here, we are getting into the crazy talk or rather…..from here, the promotional talk is over so, rather it’s going to be a talk with a drunk Toshiya and Yokomizo…. Toshiya: *laughs* That’s not good…. Joe: That’s a bad thing… I wonder if we can show that to you….please everyone be welcome to join us at the premium corner….we are going to watch one more footage of Dir en grey from last year’s March….a footage from the concert at Zepp Yokohama….please watch it…. (Footage of Ningen wo Kaburu from The World You Live in) Joe: We just watched Dir en grey’s Ningen wo Kaburu. There are many comments saying that they want to attend a live, I want you to play a live, Toshiya… Toshiya: Yes, I want to do it… Joe: Besides the screening, there is also information about a new single in spring, right? Toshiya: Yes Joe: You said that you just finished recording it Toshiya: Yes, the recording is over. Joe: Now it’s time for the mixing…and probably it’s going to be soon out….but what kind of song is it? Toshiya: Ahhh…..mmmmmm……*Joe tries to get him to say something*….I won’t say it… Joe: You won’t say anything… Toshiya: I want them to look forward to it…..the coupling song is also really amazing… Joe: Is that so? What’s the name of the coupling song? Toshiya: I won’t say it…. Joe: You won’t say anything… everyone, he is not saying it….so until it is released, we are going to be looking forward to it…. Joe explains that the premium corner is about to start so for those who have not joined yet can click in the link to do so. They have already two beers on the table. Joe: So, two troublesome old men as you haven’t seen before…old men? I shouldn’t say that….two troublesome guys…. Toshiya: No,no…we are really old men…. Joe: You are not an old man… Toshiya: I’m really an old man… Joe: Please everyone subscribe to the channel….is it ok?....we are going to do a five-second countdown….5…4….3….2…1….don! (Premium corner/Members only section starts)

(Second part here)

#dir en grey #toshiya #joe yokomizo channel #Joe Yokomizo #translation #toshiyatranslations

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mari-writes · 2 years

Text

⚠️ This is the 4th part in an ongoing series! Read from the start here!

After the fourth incident, Akaashi had to scold him again.

Bokuto had invited him to come to watch a Black Jackals game in Osaka. Akaashi, eager to see his friend, decided to surprise him and arrive the night before.

Bokuto’s roommate, Miya Atsumu, agreed to help. At 11pm he met Akaashi at the entrance of the apartment to let him in. He nodded in greeting before heading out the way Akaashi came in. Akaashi raised an eyebrow. “Where are you going?”

“Adriah’s letting me crash at his place when you’re here.” He turned back and smirked. “Have fun, Akaashi-kun!” Confused, Akaashi watched him disappear around the corner.

When he arrived at Bokuto’s door, he knocked four times. At first there was no response. Akaashi waited for a full minute before knocking again a bit louder and eventually, the door swung open.

“Hi, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi smiled. “I hope you don’t mind that I…” He trailed off when he realized what he was seeing.

Standing in the doorway, backlit by the glow of the apartment, was a slightly groggy-looking, and completely nude Bokuto Koutarou.

Akaashi’s jaw dropped. For a moment he was frozen, unable to move. He thought he heard Bokuto exclaim something—“Is it really you, Akaashi, or am I dreaming?!”—but he was having trouble processing words.

A sound from down the hall broke him out of the trance. A woman was coming out of her apartment, quickly locking her door and heading in their direction. “Shit!” Panicking, Akaashi grabbed Bokuto’s shoulders and pushed him backwards into his living room.

“What the hell, Bokuto?!” Akaashi hissed, slamming the door shut. “Don’t answer the door naked! What are you thinking?!” Frazzled, he scanned the apartment until he located a fleece blanket on the couch. He hurled it at Bokuto, forcing his eyes to stay on the man’s face.

“Sorry, ‘kaashi!” Bokuto pulled the blanket around himself. “I was sleeping when you knocked! I didn’t know you were arriving tonight! I’m so happy you did, though!” He grinned, eyes squeezing shut in delight, and Akaashi’s anger quickly dissipated.

“It’s okay, Bokuto-san,” he sighed. “Just be careful. What if I had been a neighbor? Or the building manager?”

His friend nodded, though he still didn't look too worried. “Oh, good point!”

Akaashi kicked off his shoes. “If you insist on sleeping unclothed, you should procure a robe of some sort that you can slip on easily in case of emergencies.”

“You’ve got so many good ideas, ‘kaashi!” He followed Akaashi into the living room. Akaashi, who was quite familiar with the apartment, set his bag down on his normal spot on the couch. He could feel his friend’s eyes on him as removed his coat.

“Sorry if I make you uncomfortable.”

Akaashi turned to find Bokuto’s expression wavering. He’d tightened his hold on the blanket so that it covered more of his body, and he was biting his bottom lip.

Alarm bells went off in Akaashi’s head at the sight. He immediately beelined back to his friend. “You never make me uncomfortable, Bokuto-san. I just don’t want you to get in trouble. I don't want you to be embarrassed…”

Bokuto’s grin returned. “I’m never embarrassed..”

Akaashi rolled his eyes, but he was smiling too.

They stared at each other for a few moments. A strange energy swirled in the small space between them; Akaashi wondered if he was just imagining it. He was still acutely aware of the fact that his crush was currently standing barely a foot away, totally naked under the blanket.

“How ‘bout I go get some pants on and we can watch a movie?” Bokuto asked, breaking the spell, and Akaashi nodded.

"S-sure," Bokuto-san. "I'd like that." He watched, wistful, as the man scurried away to his room.

This wasn't sustainable. Akaashi knew his feelings were about to burst out of him any day now, in front of Bokuto, and it would change their friendship forever.

One more accidental nudity incident and he'd probably lose it completely.

// End of part 4! Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please reblog and comment in the tags! 🙏🥰 —Mari

PART 5

#bokuto koutarou #bokuaka #akaashi keiji #akaboku #haikyuu!!#my writing #drabble #fanfiction

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hyenahunt · 3 years

Text

Secret Service: TERRORISM - 7

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Characters: Kohaku, Madara, Ibara

Proofreading: bakemonoremy (JP) & Skyress (ENG)

Translation: haranami

Kohaku: Dammit! If that rule that forbids ya from goin’ t’other regions didn’t exist, I’d fly to Shikoku in the blink of an eye an’ give him a good sock in the gut!

Location: Osaka

[Simultaneously, during the SS preliminaries. Somewhere in Osaka, part of the Kansai region]

Kohaku: Why, you little…! Ya absolute dimwit! What the hell do ya think you’re doing?!

I haven’t heard a single peep from ya in ages — do ya have any idea how goddamn worried I was?! Well?!

I must’ve called ya a dozen times, but not a single one of ‘em went through! I went around askin’ everybody who knew you, an’ they had no idea what you were up to either!

Fer cryin’ out loud, I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere!

But then, all of a sudden, I find out you’re in Shikoku or god knows where doin’ guerilla lives!

When I saw ya on some TV show ‘bout SS, I thought my eyes were gonna fly straight outta my head!

I was jus’ glad t’know that you were hale an’ hearty an’ alive, but—

Ya could’ve at least given me a holler!

An’ what’s with all this MaM guerilla live business in the first place? Don’tcha know that ya can’t participate in SS as an individual?!

Or did they let ya join the competition as a solo unit?

I’d be happy fer ya if that were true, but—

Hold on, whaaat?! Whaddya mean, “there’s no way they’d accept that”?! Why the hell didja start doin’ solo lives then, ya halfwit?!

I dunno the nitty-gritty details, but the leader of each unit gets a Secret Order or somethin’, right? An’ you’ll get punished if ya go against it.

Even our Rinne-han’s wary of that, so he’s actually behavin’ himself for now.

If ya break the rules an’ attract the attention of the higher ups, ya won’t get away with a lil’ slap on the wrist! Fer cryin’ out loud, why’re ya ignorin’ all that? Why don’tcha use that head of yours every once in a while?!

Huh? All this MaM work has nothin’ t’do with SS? Ya didn’t even get a Secret Order, so there’s no need t’worry?

Makes sense, I guess~ They’re jus’ regulations that’re put into place durin’ the SS preliminaries, right?

...Wait a second! How come ya didn’t join SS?! Everybody’s in sync, tryna step forward together — ya can’t be the only one who’s movin’ backwards!

I jus’ heard this through the grapevine, but apparently the idols who’re uncooperative durin’ SS are gonna be blacklisted in the industry from now on.

They’re gonna refuse t’give ya jobs an’ kick ya onto the streets — as an idol, that’s pretty much the same as dyin’.

What’s that? Ya don’t get jobs anyways, so ya don’t really care?

Well, ya better start carin’, ya dolt! If you’re not gettin’ any work, you oughta use SS as a chance t’stand out an’ attract more offers!

SS is the biggest darn festival in the world of idols, period. To us, it’s a huge chance to turn things around.

People tend t’bad mouth Crazy:B a lot, so we’re workin’ our hardest to try an’ redeem ourselves now.

Huh? “Do your best”? This ain’t the time to be cheerin’ other people on without a care in the world! Double Face an’ Crazy:B are in equally hot water!

What’re ya plannin’? What’s Double Face gonna do from here on out?

I called ya a thousand times ‘cause I wanted t’discuss that with you, but you ignored me this whooole ti—

Wha— hey! He hung up on me! What the hell?! I’ve had it up to here with that guy!

Dammit! If that rule that forbids ya from goin’ t’other regions didn’t exist, I’d fly to Shikoku in the blink of an eye an’ give him a good sock in the gut!

✦✦✦✦✦

Location: A café in Shikoku

Madara: ……

…My little kiddo really flew off the handle.

Ibara: Yes, he was loud enough for me to hear. Have you not been in contact with Oukawa-shi at all?

Madara: Well, I knew he’d definitely get mad at me if I told him that I’d be working independently as MaM. Kohaku-san… He’s a real stubborn one, so I doubt he’d accept my decision even if I told him the reasoning behind it.

But the fact is, you can only pick one unit when you register for SS.

Ibara: Naturally. If more than one per person was allowed, you could simply place powerful idols into multiple units…

Then station them at various regions and have them win in each one. There are plenty of underhanded tricks that would be made viable.

Consequently, we also have a rule that forbids one from travelling outside their assigned region, although it is simply titular.

This is all hypothetical, but if a single person was a member of every unit that was deployed…

That person alone would be free to travel wherever they wished.

And that’s rather unfair, isn’t it? It wouldn’t make for much of a game.

If a super idol such as Hidaka Seiya-shi were able to move around freely in that sort of situation…

He’d certainly rise to the occasion and win in every possible region. In the end, he’d emerge the sole victor.

Madara: Hahaha. The whole point of SS is to pick out the strongest idol, though, so I think that’d actually work out.

Ibara: No, I believe the upper echelons of ES — or rather, the SS management — would find that rather troubling. Hence, they’ve decided to enforce such regulations.

✦✦✦✦✦

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#enstars #enstars translation #ensemble stars #s: secret service #hyenahunttl #era: !!#type: event #kohaku oukawa #madara mikejima #nagisa ran #ibara saegusa

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akaashisupremacy · 3 years

Text

How to Find Love

Summary: Iwaizumi is on a quest to find love with an old friend. What can he do to get there?

Iwaizumi x fem!reader/Oc || Read it on A03

Genre : romance, friends to lovers

Hajime Iwaizumi ran into the cafe, eyes wide and panicky. “I’m already twenty minutes late for the date.”

As he composed himself before he entered the place, he took a deep breath. He was determined to enjoy this date because it might be their last. Hiromi had never taken lateness kindly.

“Gomen, the meeting ran longer than expected,“ he said, nodding his head into a bow, too embarrassed to meet her eyes, “I’m so sorry.”

She looked up from her books with a weary smile. Beside her was a pile of four or five books, some of which were beginning to yellow, meticulously tabbed with colorful post-its.

“You still made it,” she said, closing her book “I usually walk out if my date was a full hour late.”

It was a Thursday. She had an afternoon at the library while he had an early off (if it wasn’t for his work meeting). Neither of them worked traditional 9 to5 jobs. He began to wonder if seeing each other would be easier if they did. Iwa was leaving on a Friday for Osaka for the rest of the weekend. He was a physical trainer for a professional volleyball team, which meant that he travelled with them during their season.

They called for a menu and began to order what would be their dinner.

“How’s work?” he asked, surveying her through the menu.

“It’s a lot of reading,” she gestured towards her stack of books, “But we’re at the beginning of a new research-heavy campaign so it’s normal. How about you?"

“Mmm…it’s still the start of the season so most of the team is quite healthy. Some of them are a little excited so we’re just trying to reign them in to keep them from straining themselves.” he said, thumbing through the pages.

He had settled for a hamburg curry rice while she had gone for a bowl of tuna pasta. She looked distracted.

“What’s up?” he asked, leaning into the table now that the niceties were done with.

“I like my job. I like my team. But why do I feel like I’m just grinding day in and day out." she sighed, resting her chin on her books, “There’s got to be more in adult life than this."

“You’ve got to find the reason out on your own because your employer won’t do it for you. Not that I’m qualified to give advice or anything.” he said, looking up from his drink.

“I know,” she murmured, her head rested between her folded arms “It’s just so difficult to find the energy for it sometimes.”

Iwaizumi nodded. He knew what she meant. No one job could fulfill all his desires for accomplishment. He liked his job, but it wasn’t a perfect job. He wished that he didn’t need to spend so many weekends away from home.

Man, this date was sobering.

“You sound burnt out. Maybe take it slower at work?” he quirked his head to match the angle of hers.

“What is it that you want to do that you’re not doing for work?” he asked. Despite less than a year in the workforce, she already looked so glum.

She pulled herself up and swept her books aside, “I don’t know to be honest. Within the next two years, I just want to be published in other big publications. It doesn’t have to be necessarily on food, more like the stuff I write for fun. The stuff I’m willing to freelance while I have a day job, y’know?”

“Like what?”

Their order had arrived. She stabbed her fork into her pasta and gently twirled it around.

“The New York Times has a column called Modern Love where you write a long essay about some type of love. It doesn’t have to be romantic. It can be platonic, familial, or even failed love as long as it is set in modern day. I’ve been meaning to write about my failed relationships.” she said thoughtfully.

Iwa choked on his first spoonful.

“Well, if this doesn’t work out, I can at least write about it. Get three hundred dollars and buy you dinner to thank you for the experience.” she laughed drily.

“Are you always this pessimistic on your first dates?” he coughed, taking a sip of water “Either ways, I’m glad to be of help.”

She perked up a bit and grinned. Her whole face lit up when she smiled. A wave of warmth washed over him.

“Send me a copy when you get published.” he added, “I want to see what you write about me.”

“I’m definitely going to writet that you were late on the first date.” she said without skipping a beat. She was grateful that they had chosen this cafe. There were not too many people even if it was dinner time, yet the ambient noise that filled the air kept their pauses from being too silent.

Iwa stopped eating and squinted his eyes at her, “You are not gonna let me live this down, huh?" She winked at him with a glint in her eye. He smiled in response.

He couldn’t care less about what the New York Times was but she was evidently fascinated by it. He wasn’t going to own up to uncultured swine he was on a first date. He had already been late.

“Anyways tell me more about this Modern Love.” he settled back into his dinner.

She pulled out her phone and began typing, “The Modern Love column came out with questions to help get to know someone. This could be a fun date activity.”

“Sure, you want to give it a go?”

She shoved the phone in his face and scrolled through the questions. “There are three sets of questions. Each set more intimate than the last. You can choose from the first set.”

Iwa lightly held the phone, his fingertips grazing the back of her hand. He chose the first question that caught his eye.

“Number 4. What would constitute a ‘perfect’ day for you?” he read out loud. Hiromi took her phone back and read the question to herself.

“What’s your answer?” she asked.

“I just got back, I hadn’t figured out what a perfect day would be like here.” he shrugged sincerely.

She snorted loudly, “What a cop out answer!”

Iwa looked up and thought for a bit, “A day spent walking around in the city…maybe a day that starts with a morning jog and a hot unrushed breakfast after. Catching up with friends sounds good too.”

Hiromi nodded. She was fully absorbed as he talked. It was like she was going through the scenes of his day in his mind as he described them.

“What about you?” he asked, snapping out of her out of her reverie.

“A day at the market,” she said quietly. ”Any market day is a good day really.”

“To be honest, it doesn’t depend on the activities so much at times. The people you’re with is definitely important. A day at the market can still be terrible with the wrong company.” she added.

“I wasn’t subpar last weekend, was I?” he asked.

“No...you weren’t.” she replied a little more shyly than usual.

They moved onto the next question.

“What roles do love and affection play in your life?” she read out loud, “Doesn’t have to be romantic again.”

Iwaizumi inhaled sharply. That was such a loaded question.

“If you’ll use this for an article and it gets published, you better buy me dinner someplace nice.” he tutted.

“Then make this one good.” she smirked.

Iwaizumi stopped eating for a few minutes to think through the question. Before he answered, he closed his eyes and breathed out slowly.

“It defined my entire career in volleyball. My best friend and I watched a game and we kind of chose to go into the same school team after that because we were both so obsessed with the sport. Our connection was almost telepathic. We barely used signals when it was just the two of us. We basically ran off instinct.” said he softly, his eyes reminiscing a different time.

“Although we went our separate ways after high school, I spent so much time in volleyball that it defined a huge part of who I was too. I mean, if I didn’t play volleyball, I would probably be in another sport, but I’d still think I’d be different, y’know?”

You could tell he was avoiding the word “love.” Iwa was not one to be vulnerable.

“In college when I was in my first serious relationship, it was the type of love that gave me confidence and assurance. But I guess it wasn’t enough…for me to say it deeply impacted my later choices on career and other decisions, unlike volleyball.”

“I can’t help but feel that any defining…relationship I have romantically will be weighed against with my time with volleyball…my first real love…" he tried to laugh it off, but you felt the weight off his words, “And I’ve been lucky enough to have enough love in my life that I don’t need to constantly be in a relationship to feel complete.”

A moment of silence fell in between the two.

“That’s a lot to heap on a relationship.” she whispered in contemplation.

Iwa awkwardly scrambled for damage control, “…no pressure.” was all he managed to say.

“So why try to date? When it’s so tough to find someone who can match up with volleyball?” she asked.

“Companionship?” he shrugged, “It’s still nice to date around.”

“And you’re…nice. I’ve been wanting to date you since we were in college. I’ve liked you for a long time…” his entire face flushed pink.

Her eyes fluttered wide open. Since college? Is he serious?

“Our friends were right,” she said in a hush, “You did have a thing for me. I thought they were just teasing us.”

“You had a boyfriend back then and when you broke up with him, I was seeing someone else.” he exhaled, looking her earnestly in the eye, “Wasn’t it obvious to you?”

Iwaizumi couldn’t tell if Hiromi just didn’t want to speak or was too busy contemplating. She was too stunned to speak.

“It felt like fate seeing you on the plane.”

A million things were going through her mind, she slowly opened her mouth, “Now that we’ve been on two half dates, what’s it like? Is this what you’d thought it would be?”

“College is very different from now, but the short answer is yes.” he nodded, rolling his shoulders back. “Everything just clicks. I’m so comfortable with you. It’s so easy for us to talk. I like you just as much as I did in college…I just really like you. Time hasn’t changed that at all.”

Hiromi looked overwhelmed. She was unable to look him in the eye. She was barely getting to know him romantically and he had long been decided about his feelings for her.

“Do you wanna ask if they sell alcohol here? You look like you need a drink.” he joked. Hiromi didn’t look like she heard him.

"This is so intense for a first date.” she shook her head in what seemed like regret.

“We can stop,” he gently interjected, “We can talk about something else.”

She finally looked up to him and whispered, “Hajime, you’ve just dumped a lot of pressure on me.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to do that,” he smiled apologetically, “Anyways, I’m aware that we’re both at different…stages of attraction. Besides, I think this would be way more awkward if we both were pining.”

“Wouldn’t that be sweeter?” she asked.

“Way too sappy for me.” he waved with his hand. Hiromi let out a small chuckle. Iwa secretly sighed in relief.

——————————————————————————— After dinner, they headed to the arcade to blow off some steam. Iwaizumi offered to carry some of her books to which he somewhat regretted. Her books were like rocks. How the hell was she lugging them on her own in the city?

“I could carry them on my own if it’s too heavy.” she offered.

Iwaizumi looked at her incredulously. She was at least half a foot shorter and much smaller in build. His biceps weren’t going to buck in front of her.

They wandered around the arcade for a bit, unsure what to do first. Iwa silently prayed they didn’t have to do any dancing. Just when they were about to decide on the claw machine, Hiromi pointed towards a small karaoke booth at the corner of her eye.

“Let’s go in there.” she tugged at his jacket.

Iwaizumi flipped through the songs. None of them seemed to be in Japanese. All of them were in English.

“Did you pick up a default english karaoke song?” she asked, browsing through the catalogue. The room was clearly designed for kids. It was so small their knees touched and Iwa could barely sit up without hitting his head on the ceiling.

“Nah,” he shook his head, “I don’t really sing…in English. Any suggestions?”

Hiromi typed in the number of a song.

“I’m about to introduce you to your first usable English karaoke song.” she grinned at him mischievously. Iwa looked at her suspiciously.

The opening notes started to play—some acoustic guitar and a trumpet. The song sounded…Mexican? For the longest time there were no lyrics on the screen. Hiromi swayed to beat as her eyes were glued to the screen. When the song finally began to hit what sounded like the chorus, the music paused for a second.

“TEQUILA!” she yelled into the mic.

Iwaizumi was so startled he jumped up and hit his head on the ceiling. Hiromi was giggling uncontrollably.

“That’s it?!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah,” she laughed, pressing the mic towards him, “You try on the next chorus.”

When the trumpets began playing, Iwa readied himself. The song hits its familiar pause soon enough and he pulls the mic closer to his lips.

“Tequila?” he said tentatively.

“With more conviction, Hajime!” she urged, taking back the mic. On the third chorus, she moved closer to him so they could share the mic.

The music hits its third pause, they looked at each other and yelled, “TEQUILA!”

They both grinned and laughed, almost as if the act of singing about alcohol was like a drink in itself. He could feel her shins pressed against him as she continued to sway for the music. A glint in her eye flickered as she nudged him to dance along with her.

Iwaizumi wasn’t going to refuse. Especially not on their first date. He swayed what he could on the tiny box while the song lasted.

————————————————————————— At the end of the night, they both sat in the train waiting to get off on their respective stops. The carriage shuttled back and forth, pushing and pulling their bodies back and forth into each other.

“Hajime,” she tapped him on his shoulder, “We didn’t finish the last set. Let’s do a quick one before I get off.”

He nodded, “Pick one we can answer with just one word.”

Hiromi swiftly browsed the list, before looking up.

“Finish the sentence, ‘Right now, we are both feeling…’"

Their faces were both so close they could feel the heat of each other’s breath. The back of their hands were touching, but neither dared to reach out or pull away.

“Hopeful.” whispered Hiromi, an evident earnestness in her voice. She was fighting off her shyness just long enough to look him in the eye when she talked.

Iwa smiled, “Smitten.”

Before she could react, the train jolted as it shuffled towards her station.The train stopped at Hiromi’s station and she got up from her seat, taking the books from Iwa’s arms.

He followed her to the exit and watched her as she got off. She gave a small wave from the platform while she watched the doors closed.

Iwa was tempted to press his hands onto the window, unwilling to end their time for the evening. His last sight of her was her smile when the train plunged itself into the night.

“Did he start out his day at the market with a morning jog?” she asked herself, watching the train swiftly pull away.

Iwaizumi took a deep breath. The night had gone differently from how he thought the date would proceed. For one thing, he didn’t expect to confess so early into the relationship.

He took his phone and curiously googled the questions she mentioned.

It turns out the title of the New York Times article was not “Questions to Get to Know Your Date” as Hiromi had led him to believe. Instead, it was titled, “Thirty Six Questions That Lead to Love”.

“Huh,” he said to himself. He shut off the screen to his phone.

36 was too much. In his opinion 3 was enough.

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This is part 3 of a series on Iwa living in Tokyo after he moves back from California. Comment or message to be added to the taglist.

Also, I’ve been feeling quite down lately, so say some nice things if you feel like it in the comments 😬✌️

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4

Series taglist: @itstheee-ha-chan

#iwazumi fluff #iwaizumi imagine #iwaizumi x you #iwaizumi hajime 27 athletic trainer #iwaizumi hajime #hajime iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi hajime x you #iwaizumi hajime x reader #iwaizumi x oc #seijoh x reader #haikyuu fanfiction #hq fanfic #hq x oc #haikyuu x oc #iwaizumi scenarios #iwaizumi series #hq fluff #hq imagines #hq scenarios

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